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Aljamain Sterling recently went on a rant about UFC fighters using steroids and other banned substances to gain an unfair advantage over their opponents.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour podcast, 'Funk Master' claimed that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) isn't doing enough to stop fighters from using performance-enhancing drugs.
Sterling claimed all fighters using steroids should "do jail time" because of the danger they put their opponents in. He pointed out that MMA is a full-contact sport and allowing fighters who cheat to compete puts the ones that don't in serious harm's way.
The reigning bantamweight champion said:
"It bothers me, man, it sure does bother me because you should do jail time for doing steroids or EPO or any type of sh*t like that in the UFC, in combat sports, in general. You can literally rearrange someone's career, their livelihood doing contact sports, man. This is not like playing basketball, we're not shooting hoops, we're not hitting a baseball into the into the crowd, you know what I'm talking about, you know, we're of course we're dealing with life-changing events when you step into that octagon."
Sterling also claimed that USADA hasn't been testing enough non-American fighters and believes that a lot of them are on steroids.
He added that several nations treat sports differently than the United States. In some countries, athletes are sometimes allowed to cheat so they can win championships and make their nation proud.
Watch Aljamain Sterling's interview on The MMA Hour below:
Aljamain Sterling set to make his first title defense at UFC 273
Aljamain Sterling will be looking to make his first bantamweight title defense in a much-anticipated rematch with Petr Yan at UFC 273 in April.
Yan and Sterling clashed for the bantamweight title at UFC 259 last year. In a very unusual end to the fight, the title changed hands following a disqualification. 'No Mercy' landed an illegal knee to the head of a 'Funk Master', who was grounded at the time.
The illegal strike rendered Sterling unable to continue, making him the first fighter in UFC history to win a title via DQ. Up until the point he got hit with the knee, the American was getting dominated by by his Russian counterpart and has been criticized by fans for celebrating a title he probably didn't deserve to win.
Sterling will be looking to silence his critics in the rematch with Yan at UFC 273.
