Following the messy aftermath at UFC 259, Petr Yan’s coach thought the explanations Aljamain Sterling gave after the loss were confusing at best.
When controversy filled the mixed martial arts atmosphere, Sterling shared his thoughts on his podcast and his thought process as the events took place in real-time. Additionally, the bantamweight champion provided his audience with an explanation as to why he took the actions he did.
“I do remember asking, ‘How much time do I have?’ Sterling said. Because I wanted to continue,” Sterling said. “In this moment, I’m thinking a whole bunch of things in my head: Dana (White’s) not going to give me another shot at the title, the fight’s going to be a no contest, Dana’s going to say, ‘He was losing that fight in the fourth round, so why should we use him again? We already know the direction the fight was heading, so we’re going to move on from this.’ Then me, I’m never going to get the opportunity again. I’m going to have to win three or four more fights to get back in this position for a world title again.”
After the illegal knee fiasco occurred, Petr Yan’s coach Marcos DaMatta was extremely confused by the behavior of Sterling. In part, because he thought that anyone with a concussion would certainly have trouble producing the thoughts Sterling admitted to post-fight.
Petr Yan’s Coach Befuddled By Sterling’s Explanation After Illegal Knee
Petr Yan’s coach DaMatta spoke in length about what he thought of Sterling’s explanations following the illegal knee. Most importantly, the coach highlighted the importance of an immediate rematch.
“Wait a second. If you have a concussion, if you’re not able to continue to fight, are you really thinking about all that inside of the cage?” DaMatta said. “I mean, that got me confused. I don’t know if Aljo was thinking all of that inside of the cage when he was still down or he was thinking of that now. Again, I respect Aljo and his coaches. I went to his corner and apologized because I know Petr made a mistake, and I’m not denying that. But hold on, what’s the truth? Did you really think all of that inside the cage or afterwards? I don’t know. It all comes down to let’s book the rematch soon.”
Petr Yan’s coach certainly has a point; however, with concussions affecting each person differently, it really is hard to approximate what Sterling was thinking in those moments. Despite all of the talk, DaMatta still ended the discussion by emphasizing the need to run it back. And for the sake of the division’s future, he has an even more valid point there.
Do you agree with Petr Yan’s coach? Was Sterling not being completely genuine during and after the disqualification victory? Let us know what you think!
