Marlon Vera explains how Aljamain Sterling “f**ked up” in title loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292

By Susan Cox - September 1, 2023

Marlon Vera is explaining how Aljamain Sterling ‘f**ked up’ in his title loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292.

Marlon Vera

It was on Saturday, August 19th at UFC 292 that bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (23-4 MMA) took on Sean O’Malley (17-1 MMA) in the main even at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The outcome was a second-round TKO victory for the 28-year-old O’Malley, who in the process stripped ‘Funk Master’ of the crown, becoming the new champion.

During an interview with Brendan Schaub on ‘Food Truck Diaries’, ‘Chito’ shared his take on where Sterling went wrong both inside the cage and in the build-up to the fight:

“I think his (Sterling’s) mind wasn’t ready for the pressure of the lights, for the magnitude of the event I believe Aljamain f**ked up. He beat Cejudo in Brooklyn, he should be ‘f**k you, f**k you, I’m fighting in December. You want to strip me, strip me’ and he kind of went like ‘oh I want to make a million or maybe over, I’m gonna just do it’.” 

Continuing, Marlon Vera claims there was no reason Aljamain Sterling should have been pushed by the UFC into defending his title so soon:

“It’s not just about the money, it’s about also the legacy, he already got the money. He already got a couple houses, he’s very successful. Don’t f**king wh*re yourself out for a couple thousand.”

Concluding Vera feels Sterling should have held out and not fought again until December (h/t MMANews):

“If I’m him, you have two options, wait for December or have him fight for the interim belt and he meet me in December or just strip me and I fight the winner in December. It’s the same, it’s the f**king same. He f**ked up.”  

Marlon Vera (21-8 MMA) also fought at UFC 292, and rendered a unanimous decision victory over Pedro Munhoz (20-8 MMA).

Do you agree with ‘Chito’ that Sterling ‘f*cked up’ and that is the only reason he is not still the bantamweight champion?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!


Topics:

Aljamain Sterling Marlon Vera Sean O'Malley UFC UFC 292