Aljamain Sterling provides clarity on his statements about Andrew Tate ahead of UFC 280 return: “Why would I ever blame the victim?”

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has provided clarity on his comments about Andrew Tate.

‘Funk Master’ returns this weekend at UFC 280 against T.J. Dillashaw. The bout will be his first since his rematch with Petr Yan in April. In that outing, Sterling used his wrestling and grappling to ensure a split-decision victory to retain his title.

Ahead of his return in Abu Dhabi, the bantamweight champion met up with Andrew Tate. The former kickboxing champion has found life in a second career as a controversial internet star. For his controversial stances and comments about women, he’s been banned from several platforms.

For that reason, the UFC fighter was bashed by several fans online upon seeing their meeting. In response, Sterling fired off a series of tweets defending Tate. Many fans and media members felt that the bantamweight champion was victim-blaming in several of his tweets.

Now, at UFC 280 media day, Aljamain Sterling has provided clarity on his previous tweets. The bantamweight champion made it clear that he’s not someone who blames victims of sexual assault. Sterling made reference to his mother and sisters, and how he would never tell them it’s their fault in a similar instance.

Furthermore, the bantamweight champion concluded that people today are too quick to judge, rather than analyze what a person is saying.

“So I quote-tweeted somebody that said what everybody else was saying that they were coming down on me for and I was agreeing with the tweet,” Sterling said. “And I said, ‘You’re right. I 100 percent agree with you that Andrew Tate should not ever say it is the responsibility of a victim.’ So people that were coming at me were completely wrong and I was trying to explain that you misread the tweet and then they would show me the same tweet and I would say you’re not understanding what I’m saying. You’re misreading the tweet because I’m quoting and I’m agreeing, I am on your side.” (h/t MMAFighting)

“I have 14-plus sisters, I love my mom. I would never tell my mom that if anything like that happened to them that ‘It’s your fault.’ That’s just the craziest thing to ever say to anybody. That’s like, if you’re in the hood, and you’re walking down a nice neighborhood or something and you’re a person of color and you get shot because you have a hoodie on that I’m telling you it’s your fault because you’re walking down the street. That doesn’t even make any sense. Why would I ever blame the victim? It’s the person that’s not taking the time to understand.”

He concluded, “…I think people are really crazy and I think that’s the problem with the world today. We are so quick to condemn people instead of actually giving people a chance to reason and analyze what people are saying versus assuming and just making a judgment and being completely wrong. That’s just the world that we live in today. I don’t think it’s going to change anytime soon. With that said, hopefully, T.J. Dillashaw moves the needle this weekend at UFC 280.”

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