UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling criticised Henry Cejudo‘s withdrawal from his planned fight against Marlon Vera, stating that Cejudo shouldn’t make big talk if he can’t back it up, especially as he had previously derided Sterling in similar circumstances.
Aljamain Sterling recently shared a message for fellow fighter, Henry Cejudo. Sterling expressed his frustration to Cejudo’s advice to him, stating “Don’t talk the talk if you can’t walk the walk.” The comments came following Cejudo’s recent withdrawal from his planned fight against Marlon Vera at UFC 292, concluded due to a tear in his right shoulder. Vera, understandably upset by the situation received support from Sterling who shared a video expressing his unhappiness over Cejudo’s brazen comments made about him during his retirement period.
In his video, Sterling stated, “Henry Cejudo is out of this fight. ‘The savage!’ Remember that? The savage? Texting Dana [White] saying, ‘If that little p***y doesn’t want to fight, I’ll take the fight?’ Isn’t it funny how the roles are reversed now and this ‘little savage’ is no longer a savage? Very interesting,”. Sterling’s comments pointed out the irony in Cejudo’s withdrawal, while also expressing his frustration at the former’s attempt to vilify him to the fans.
Sterling further criticized Cejudo and stated, “Henry wanted to be this big, bad tough guy and lie to the fans and make it seem like he was in it to win it, yay!”. He further ridiculed Cejudo’s attempt at playing up to the fans, while act now seeing him withdraw from the match due to an injury. He compared his own behavior, conveying that he was upfront with his injuries to avoid disappointing his fans.
Following his win at UFC 249 against Dominick Cruz, Cejudo retired from the sport for three years. Despite his retirement, he often hinted at making a comeback and regularly criticized Sterling as champion. They eventually clashed at UFC 288, where Sterling emerged victorious. Post match, while Cejudo praised Sterling, “The Funk Master” was less willing to forgive the past jibes. In the meantime, while Cejudo has withdrawn from UFC 292, Sterling continues to prepare for his match against Sean O’Malley. The fight will take place on Aug. 19 at the TD Gardens in Boston.