Aljamain Sterling doubles down on Umar Nurmagomedov criticism after UFC Shanghai defeat

MVP Boxing |  

Aljamain Sterling sparked an uproar among MMA fans after he criticized the handling of Umar Nurmagomedov following his UFC Shanghai defeat.

Umar had the weight of the world on his shoulders as a prominent name within Team Nurmagomedov, entering the bout against tough powerhouse Song Yadong as the heavy favorite. He was unable to live up to expectations, suffering a violent knockout loss in the second round of his tenth appearance in the UFC. Essentially beating a man while he was down, Sterling hit out at the Russian’s team and the promotion for rushing him into the title picture, causing outrage from fans.

Ahead of UFC Shanghai, Aljamain Sterling insisted that Umar Nurmagomedov was being fast-tracked to the title due to his namesake. As the dust settled on the event, Sterling doubled down on his belief that Umar wasn’t ready to be in there with a talent like Yadong, saying:

“You have Umar in a closely contested fight with Mario Bautista. Now he’s here,” Sterling said. “This is what I was saying in the beginning of his career when he first got to the UFC. He’s a great guy. Great guy, I tell you. No one better than this guy. But this one thing I will say. I always said, you have to level up with the competition. You have to take your time, people.”

“I thought the UFC did him a disservice when they rushed him to the top. And now, this is the situation that we’re dealing with. “

Sterling’s comments didn’t go down well with many in the MMA community. Fans believe Umar Nurmagomedov was just unlucky, and being caught by a power puncher is sometimes the nature of the fight game.

Fans disagreed with Sterling’s belief that Umar was rushed into the title picture. The backlash forced Sterling to react.

“Rushed to a title. Never said Umar’s not skilled,” Sterling stated in response to the critics. “There’s something to be said about experience; don’t take my word for it, though. I ‘clearly’ have no understanding of this sport. Now please go look up Song’s record and compare it. It’s a fight – anything can happen. Do your homework.”