Aljamain Sterling needs to see extra of an precise battle the following time he steps onto the grappling mats.
At Fury Professional Grappling 8 (a Cage Fury FC occasion) in Philadelphia on Saturday, the previous UFC bantamweight champion headlined towards Kevin Dantzler and was visibly annoyed throughout the 10-minute contest. Dantzler insisted on combating off of his again and welcoming Sterling to work inside his guard, which Sterling reluctantly did.
That technique led to few dynamic exchanges, although Sterling supplied a thrill seven minutes into the match as he countered a Dantzler armbar by choosing him up and spinning him round earlier than dropping him to the mat. Watch beneath.
The transfer was evocative of Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett’s notorious spinning throw of Anthony McDavitt that was additionally used to counter a submission try. And like Bennett, Sterling went on to lose a choice.
Although Dantzler mustered up little offense exterior of his armbar try, Sterling additionally struggled to place factors up on the board. He drew cheers when he grabbed Dantzler’s leg and dragged him across the mat, however his showmanship wasn’t sufficient to place him on the successful facet of a majority name.
Afterwards, Sterling referred to as Dantzler’s efficiency “a shame.”
“I don’t even know the way they rating that,” Sterling stated. “One other man can’t drag his ass cheeks on the mat and suppose that’s a win, doing completely nothing. Yeah, sports activities jiu-jitsu guys, however I assure you if this was a avenue battle, my man would by no means do this s***. So why are we turning this sport into some type of bizarre spectacle the place you possibly can win a match off of your again doing completely nothing. If I did nothing, what the f*** did he do?
“I’m simply saying, I need to have a enjoyable match. I advised you guys beforehand, I’m attempting to get in his head a bit of bit, possibly he’ll have interaction. Pull guard from standing up. Don’t simply begin the match in your butt, that needs to be deducted a degree proper out of the gate. Am I fallacious? By no means let one other man drag you by your ankles in entrance of your family members and associates, as a result of that may be a shame.”
See extra highlights from Sterling’s predominant occasion bout beneath.
Sterling most not too long ago fought in MMA at UFC 292 this previous August, when he misplaced the UFC bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley. “Funk Grasp” returns to motion on April 13 at UFC 300, the place he strikes as much as featherweight to battle Calvin Kattar.
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