“I almost wanted to text them sarcastically and be like, ‘Hey, just to let you guys know, I’m alive.’”
Aljamain Sterling fell victim to one of the scarier knockouts ever seen inside the Octagon at the hands — or technically, knees — of Marlon Moraes last weekend, but that wasn’t the only blow he suffered.
Speaking with The MMA Hour this afternoon, the bantamweight contender was none-too-pleased with how the UFC handled his knockout loss at UFC Fresno, taking aim at everyone from the likes of UFC President Dana White and matchmaker Sean Shelby all the way down to those presiding over the bout.
“I definitely think they could have done a lot better with updating the fans and everybody else,” said Sterling.
“Especially, we have loved ones back home, so I had people trying to call me, trying to reach me, they couldn’t get in touch with me, obviously I was still delirious, delusional…the least they could have done was get a follow-up report and get something out for the press or something at least for the people who are actively checking and wanted to really know, who are actually really concerned about how I was doing, and to actually have some piece of mind and to know what was going on.”
One of the nastiest KO's ive ever seen #UFCFresno https://t.co/a7GJbpXMKt
— 👑 (@Makaray23) December 10, 2017
“I’ve been getting along a lot better with Sean Shelby and even Dana White himself,” he continued.
“But at least a text message to say, ‘Just checking to see if you’re doing OK. Making sure you’re alive.’ I think that’s common courtesy. I’m technically one of your employees, no matter if you want to call it self-employed, I’m still one of your employees…from a human being standpoint I think that would have been a cool thing to wake up to.”
Having needed to be stretchered out of the Octagon following the loss, Sterling also described the lack of compassion from UFC officials as “a letdown” when rewatching the fight after the fact.
“It was kind of a letdown,” Sterling said. “I almost wanted to text them sarcastically and be like, ‘Hey, just to let you guys know, I’m alive.’ But like I said, it’s a business relationship, I know what I signed up for, I don’t expect these guys to be my friends, I just thought they would have had a little bit more human decency to do something like that.”
Sterling’s response was largely echoed by fans and media members alike in the aftermath of the loss, with some calling out the UFC’s broadcast team in particular. As Sterling was being stretchered out of the Octagon, the team of play-by-play announcer Brendan Fitzgerald and colorman/fighter Paul Felder repeatedly shied away from discussing the nasty KO, leading many to wonder how the UFC has routinely failed to handle a situation it should be all-too-versed in by now.
Fully aware MMA violent. Just seems weird to promote “violence” yet completely shy away when someone gets KO’d like Sterling did. If you’re gonna embrace it, embrace what is often a byproduct of said violence. Be honest about it. Goes both ways. https://t.co/OrRUMAn7CO
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 19, 2017
Having competed 4 times for the UFC in 2017, Sterling stated he will now take some time off to rest and recover before assessing his next move.
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Jared Jones is a writer, musician, and filmmaker currently residing in Boston, MA. Angry comments can be directed to his Twitter and/or Facebook pages.
