'His Mind Wasn't Ready For The Pressure' – Marlon Vera Explains Where Aljamain Sterling Went Wrong Against Sean O'Malley

Following his loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, Marlon Vera has been critical of the former champion Aljamain Sterling. 

In an interview with Brendan Schaub on Food Truck Diaries, “Chito” broke down where the “Funkmaster” went wrong inside the cage and in the build-up to the fight. 

Having faced and beaten O’Malley in the past, Vera said that Sterling was far too eager in the second round to grab hold of his opponent. 

Against one of the best strikers in the division, reaching for a takedown is a critical mistake and O’Malley capitalized on it perfectly.

Vera also believes that Sterling’s lack of patience was caused by his mentality for this fight which all started after his win over Henry Cejudo where the champion was somewhat pressured into making the quick turnaround for Boston.

“I think his mind wasn’t ready for the pressure of the lights, for the magnitude of the event I believe Aljamain f*cked up. He beat Cejudo in Brooklyn, he should be ‘f*ck you, f*ck you, I’m fighting in December. You want to strip me, strip me’ and he kind of went like ‘oh I want to make a million or maybe over, I’m gonna just do it’.” 

“It’s not just about the money, it’s about also the legacy, he already got the money. He already got a couple houses, he’s very successful. Don’t f*cking wh*re yourself out for a couple thousand”

Marlon Vera Says What He Would Have Done In Sterling’s Position

After narrowly defeating Cejudo at UFC 288, what should have been a huge achievement for Sterling was quickly put in the rear view mirror. 

Joined in the cage by O’Malley to build their fight as Sterling’s next title defense, the defending champion made it very clear that the UFC’s plans didn’t line up with his. 

Ultimately, the two parties came to a conclusion, leading Sterling to go straight back into training camp to turn around and defend his title three months later. 

“Chito” Vera sees this as the first mistake that Sterling made in losing his title to O’Malley, stating that champion should have stood his ground on not wanting to fight that sooner. 

Outlining what he would do in the position, Vera said that he would have given the UFC an ultimatum, forcing them to postpone the fight or strip their champion.

“If I’m him, you have two options, wait for December or have him fight for the interim belt and he meet me in December or just strip me and I fight the winner in December. It’s the same, it’s the f*cking same. He f*cked up.”  

Read also: Henry Cejudo Highlights Advantage He Thinks Would Guide Marlon Vera To Title Win Over Sean O’Malley

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