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Aljamain Sterling was able to defend his bantamweight title with a second-round TKO victory over T.J. Dillashaw. He recently opened up on his fallout with Marlon Vera, a potential opponent for his next title defense.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Sterling mulled over potential challengers for his 135lbs throne. After initially failing to mention Vera, he was asked about the No.5-ranked bantamweight to which he stated:
"Chito's a weird one. We were kind of cordial and cool before this whole weird thing happened between us because someone asked me about the O'Malley fight and I said it was a weird thing, but Chito threw the kick and I said he won. I was like, it was a fluky thing that happened in terms of the reaction, but Chito won."
Sterling added:
"He took that as disrespect and the guy started going off on me, he was b*tthurt. You would've felt like someone literally stuck their fingers up his a**hole how he reacted and started getting super defensive. Who gives a s**t? You won the fight. You got both checks. Who cares? You fight again, if you don't fight again, who cares, you got the W, you go home."
Aljamain Sterling's comments suggest that there may be some lingering animosity between the two bantamweights. While the champion is on an eight-fight win streak, Marlon Vera is currently riding a four-fight win streak as he angles for a title opportunity.
Watch Aljamain Sterling discuss his fallout with Marlon Vera below (starting at the 46:20 mark):
Could Marlon Vera be Aljamain Sterling's next title defense?
Following his UFC 280 TKO victory over T.J. Dillashaw, Aljamain Sterling made it clear that he is willing to take on any potential fight at 135lbs.
His post-fight comments led to a response from Marlon Vera and an eventual back-and-forth between the two bantamweights, setting the stage for a potential title fight.
Unfortunately for Vera, he may have to wait before receiving his opportunity to fight for the belt. Despite a four-fight win streak in which 'Chito' received bonuses for each performance, UFC president Dana White previously shared that the winner of the matchup between Sean O'Malley and Petr Yan would receive the next title opportunity in the division.
While O'Malley emerged victorious over Yan in a split decision, it did not come without controversy. Despite 'Sugar' performing well, many felt that Yan won the fight and was robbed by the judges. With the controversial decision, the slight possibility lingers that White will change his mind and award Vera with the next bantamweight title shot.
Despite his victory over O'Malley at UFC 252, this remains unlikely, simply due to the American's budding stardom. The UFC has fast-tracked O'Malley into the title picture and he appears destined for his first opportunity to become the bantamweight champion.
