Aljamain Sterling has not gotten over his split decision loss to Raphael Assuncao.
Late last month, Sterling fought Assuncao in a pivotal bout in terms of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight rankings implications. “The Funk Master” fell short and suffered his second straight loss. Sterling finds himself at No. 7 on the 135-pound rankings, while Assuncao sits at No. 3.
Backstage at UFC 208, Sterling spoke to the media (via MMAJunkie.com). He said he’s lost when it comes to figuring out what the judges are looking for:
“That’s the part that’s disheartening, you know. I felt like I did everything I could, and in the third round, I said, ‘Let’s put an exclamation point and put a stamp on this fight and go after this guy and really try to get the finish.’ I feel like I really tried to do that, and I outstruck the guy. I think he probably landed one straight left in that third round that popped my head back. And I came right back forward. (Assuncao) landed more punches, harder punches and strikes in (the) T.J. Dillashaw (fight), who’s next in line for the world title, as opposed to me. I just don’t get it. So that’s kind of where – I just try to wrap my head around that and try to go back to the drawing board to figure out what I need to do.”
Sterling went from being a 12-0 prospect, to dropping two straight as mentioned above. It isn’t all doom and gloom for “The Funk Master.” Those two losses were via split decision to two top 10 bantamweights. Sterling is only 27 years of age and is still in the top 10 rankings.
A victory in his next fight would, at worst, probably see him keep his seventh spot. It’ll be interesting to see how Sterling responds to his recent setbacks.
