Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling came to Henry Cejudo’s defense amidst harsh post-fight criticism of the UFC Seattle main event.
Henry Cejudo‘s bid to get back into the bantamweight title conversation fell short of the mark at UFC Seattle. After a back-and-forth first three rounds between Cejudo and co-headliner Song Yadong, the fight was abruptly stopped after an accidental eye poke significantly impacted Cejudo’s vision.
Yadong wasn’t deducted a point for the infraction and the fight was ruled a technical decision due to the fight surpassing the three-round mark. Yadong won the fight unanimously to hand Cejudo his third consecutive defeat.
After Cejudo’s latest setback, some fans scolded the former champion for milking every second of his allotted five-minute recovery period. Cejudo was able to finish Round 3, but the fight didn’t move into the fourth round after Cejudo was deemed unfit to continue competing due to his compromised eyesight.
One of Cejudo’s former rivals came to his defense after UFC Seattle.
Henry Cejudo gets a surprising defense after UFC Seattle loss sparks criticism
On a recent ESPN MMA Instagram post, Aljamain Sterling compared Cejudo’s detractors to those who accused him of faking an injury in his infamous disqualification win over Petr Yan.
“Remember guys, he’s ‘faking it’ [FACE PALM],” Sterling commented.
Sterling was accused of exaggerating/faking an injury he suffered against Yan during their title fight at UFC 259. With seconds left in the fourth round, Yan landed an illegal knee that stopped the fight and eventually went in Sterling’s favor by disqualification after he was deemed unfit to continue competing.
Sterling suffered a significant neck injury from Yan’s infraction and earned the bantamweight title in the process. He would go on to defeat Yan in their rematch at UFC 273.
Now, Cejudo is the subject of harsh criticism after suffering a nasty eye poke from Yadong. Some called for the fight to be ruled a ‘no contest’ to make a strong case for a rematch, a rematch that UFC CEO Dana White isn’t interested in making.
Aljamain Sterling got into it with Diego Lopes over UFC 314 title shot
Sterling made headlines on Monday when he and top featherweight contender Diego Lopes went at it on social media. After questioning Lopes’ case for the UFC 314 vacant featherweight title shot, Sterling and Lopes went back and forth as things quickly turned personal between the two sides.
Lopes will face former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski for Ilia Topuria‘s vacated belt at UFC 314. He earned the nod over the undefeated Movsar Evloev, Sterling’s most recent opponent, despite holding a loss to Evloev in their careers.
Topuria vacated the title for a move to lightweight and a timeframe for his return is uncertain, as of this writing. White hinted that an immediate title shot isn’t guaranteed for Topuria’s lightweight comeback.
As for Sterling, after initially teasing retirement, he’s focused on a featherweight return later this year as he looks to bounce back from the Evloev loss.