Former UFC heavyweight champion turned commentator Daniel Cormier has called on fans to stop booing Aljamain Sterling after a split decision win against Henry Cejudo at UFC 288.
The victory on Saturday marks the third time Sterling has successfully defended the bantamweight title that he earned from Petr Yan in March 2021. However, “Funk Master” was met with boos from the supposed hometown crowd in New Jersey as his hand was raised.
“Guys, stop booing Aljamain, stop booing Aljamain Sterling. Give this man his respect,” said Cormier in a reaction video uploaded on his YouTube channel.
According to Cormier, Sterling has been doing “everything you want as a champion,” and he could not understand why the crowd turned against him, and the situation made no sense.
He also mentioned that the occurrence was not a one-time thing in Newark, New Jersey, New York’s neighboring area.
“I don’t know what this man has to do to garner your respect. If tonight wasn’t enough, you’re just never gonna be satisfied,” Cormier said.
The fight between Cejudo and Sterling lasted the full 25 minutes and was a closely contested battle. Michael Bell’s scorecard of 48-47 in favor of Cejudo was scored differently by the scores of judges Derek Clearly and Eric Colon, who scored 48-47 in favor of Sterling.
With this victory, Sterling has extended his win streak to nine fights, starting in April 2018. Despite the lack of respect from some fans, he has established himself as one of the greatest 135-pound fighters of all time. He now plans to continue his quest to solidify his legacy with another title defense later this year.
Rejection from opponent-to-be
After the winner announcement, Sterling called out “Sugar” Sean O’Malley, who was sitting cage side in anticipation of fighting the winner of the match for the bantamweight world championship.
However, the situation escalated, and a little scuffle ensued as the two exchanged a few words and Sterling’s training partner Merab Dvalishvili stole O’Malley’s jacket and put it on during the face-off.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, O’Malley said that he did not agree with Sterling’s victory.
“I thought Henry was up 3-1 going into the fifth. I was honestly pretty surprised that Aljo won,” said O’Malley.
He also openly expressed his desire to fight Henry Cejudo instead, saying that he was eager to put Cejudo “to sleep.”
“I thought Henry was a better stylistic matchup, but I also just really wanna slap that little dude.”
UFC President Dana White announced at the post-fight press conference that the UFC plans to hold the title fight between Sterling and O’Malley at UFC 292 in Boston on August 19.
Comments from Cejudo
This match marks a return for Cejudo after his three-year-long hiatus. He was on a six-fight win streak, with his last loss against Joseph Benavidez back in December 2016.
“Triple C” was hoping to reclaim his title before he had to concede and give up his streak to Sterling.
Looking at the upcoming fight between Sterling and O’Malley, he talked about how Aljo would be in trouble if he couldn’t take O’Malley down.
He said O’Malley is good at targeting the body and has good kicks, but he also acknowledged Aljamain’s skill as a fighter, saying that he is a “gamer.” Going by their recent close fight, Cejudo is going in favor of Sterling to win, as, in his opinion, Aljamain has faced tougher opponents than O’Malley.