Aljamain Sterling is 'concerned' about a few things in the next UFC title fight.
Of course, we're talking about the rematch between defending champ Sean O'Malley and Chito Vera, which headlines UFC 299 on Saturday in Miami. O'Malley aims to avenge his only loss, a TKO to Vera in 2020.
It was O'Malley who took the bantamweight throne from Sterling at UFC 292 last August. While 'Funkmaster' and his former foe don't see eye-to-eye all too well, he'd give his inside take on how O'Malley's first title defense turns out.
"I'm not rooting for anybody. I don't give a s*** who wins," Sterling said on his YouTube channel. "I know this is how people are gonna perceive, 'Oh, you're being salty,' I'm like, 'No. I think O'Malley is the more skilled fighter. 100%.'
"But I just think there's the intangibles, like someone's durability, their heart, and the cardio aspect that people I think they're overlooking, and I feel like Chito has that."
Whereas Vera could have the edge in these areas, Sterling isn't too on the fence in the title fight, especially upon hearing a rumor that the Ecuadorian's preparations for the fight went south.
"The only thing I'm concerned about is I heard that I'm hearing through the grapevine that he didn't really have a great camp [according to] a lot of guys that have trained with Chito," Sterling divulged. "I don't know how true that is. So with that said, I'm leaning towards O'Malley to get it done. I'm gonna say, I don't think he finishes him. By decision? Maybe split decision? I'm saying split decision. O'Malley [wins]."
'Sugar' defending his title by split decision wasn't Aljo's only prediction. 'Funkmaster' also foresees the UFC 299 main event going into the history books, but for all the wrong reasons.
Sterling claims the excitement level for Sean O'Malley vs. Chito Vera will match some of the worst fights in UFC history:
"Francis Ngannou [vs.] Derrick Lewis, or Rose Namajunas [vs.] Carla Esparza 2. I think if you're Chito, you fight this motherf***** boring, bro. You can't fight him aggressive and try to be exciting because he's too good at what he does."
Sean O'Malley, who holds a 77% finishing rate, isn't picturing a lackluster matchup with Chito Vera as the undisputed champion is, "Going in there with the mindset to kill this dude, and it's as simple as that," O'Malley said in a recent interview with TMZ.
"I get a lot of hate for saying mentally I didn't lose that fight," O'Malley said of his first fight with Vera. "I didn't feel like my skills were beat. It was a freak accident.
".... Even with the injury, my foot was shut off and I was still piecing him up. Dotting him up, chasing him down. I'm just very confident going into this fight."
If you use any quotes from this article, please leave an H/T to MMAKnockout.com for the transcription.
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