Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling pleads for “more consistency” when deciding what criteria qualifies for an immediate rematch.
Sterling, the former bantamweight champion and possible GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) of the division, lost his title at UFC 292 to Sean O’Malley. In the days that followed his defeat, ‘Aljo’ made it clear that he would like to face ‘Suga’ in an immediate rematch. Sterling had successfully defended the belt on more occasions than any of his predecessors. With prior defences against former champions, Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo, Sterling took a quick turnaround to defend against O’Malley.
In the aftermath, UFC CEO Dana White claimed that there were a number of options for O’Malley’s first defence but seemed to insinuate that ‘Aljo’ was unlikely to get an immediate rematch.
Aljamain Sterling on a Potential Adesanya vs Strickland Rematch
Fast-forward to UFC 293 in Australia. The main event is Israel Adesanya Vs Sean Strickland. In quite frankly, one of the biggest upsets of all time, we saw Sean Strickland, drop and dominate ‘Izzy’ over five rounds.
In the immediate aftermath, Dana White had a different perspective than he had shown towards ‘Aljo’. The UFC CEO claimed that an immediate rematch ‘made sense’. Something which many of us, including Aljamain, disagree with.
Speaking on how he would feel if ‘Izzy’ was to get an immediate rematch, Sterling said, “How did you give him another title shot, and then you tell me I don’t deserve it? That’s all I’m saying. I’m not knocking Izzy. Izzy, if they give you the title shot, brother, take that s**t and run. But what I’m saying is, how do you get it and I don’t? If the fans, Dana, whoever, if they can justify that to me, I’ll be like, ‘Alright, I can see your point’. But I don’t see the point.”
Talking on his ‘Weekly Skraps‘ podcast, Sterling continued, “What are we talking about? You’re saying his reign was better than mine based on what? I’m giving you guys all these fights and how they played out, which one of these are the ones that stand out? (Paulo) Costa fight was crazy, that was a really good finish, and then the (Alex) Pereira fight, only because he lost and then he comes back in the second fight, and that was a great fight because of the anticipation.”
Consistency Is Key
The former champion was not trying to take away from what Adesanya had done in the sport but believes that agreeing to a quick turnaround, at his own peril, should play a factor and that more consistency is required when adjudicating who is entitled to immediate rematches.
“I literally had the entire deck stacked against me coming into that fight, I put my balls on the table and said, ‘I’m going to do this one more time, roll the dice, even though I know it’s not the best time for me to get back out there. I was able to make a mental shift to be like, ‘This is your job, this is the biggest moment of my career, let me try to capitalize on it’, because at the end of the day, this is what fighters do. We risk it for the biscuit, and I came up short.”
“I don’t want the fans to get this misconstrued. I don’t want the UFC brass to get this misconstrued. It’s a business. It’s the entertainment business, it’s not the merit business of No. 1 is supposed to fight No. 2. If it did, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation, but that’s not the case.”
“This is all about the numbers. Izzy has done what he’s done in the past. He’s a huge figure. Look at his social media following versus Sean (O’Malley). I just wish there was a little bit more consistency so we knew.”
I actually agree with Aljamain here. Personally, I am not a fan of the immediate rematch, unless the fight warrants it. Money, fame and star power should not be a consideration. A rematch should always be determined by the public demand.
A Fair Point?
When Adesanya lost the title to long time rival Alex Pereira, we needed to see an immediate rematch. The reason for that? We were heading to the scorecards and had we made it, Israel Adesanya would have been announced #AndStill. ‘Izzy’ hurt Pereira early in the fight but wasn’t able to seal the deal. In the closing stages of the fight, Pereira ripped the victory from the hands of Adesanya to claim the title in emphatic style. Yet it was the narrative, that ‘Izzy’ was winning the fight, and would have won the fight had he not been stopped late on, that left us thirsty for the rematch.
Against Sean Strickland, this wasn’t the case. ‘Izzy’ wasn’t in control, he didn’t have his moments and he was well beaten. There should be no rematch. In recent times, we have seen a great champion by the name of Charles Oliveira, lose his title in dominant fashion to Islam Makhachev. Was there an immediate rematch? No, because the fight didn’t warrant it. There are so many other examples.
Sean O’Malley comfortably beat Aljamain Sterling, for that reason, I see no need for an immediate rematch. However, Aljamain does have a point. If you’re going to give a rematch to Adesanya, who was comprehensively beaten over 25 minutes. Then how can you say that ‘Aljo’, who was caught by a beautiful right hand early in the fight, does not deserve the same?
Aljamain Sterling is right, we do need more consistency. Let’s not turn this sport into boxing. If the fight isn’t close. If the fight doesn’t have drama within to justify it. Do not give immediate rematches, let the divisions move on.
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All quotes are credited to MMA Fighting.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
