Getty UFC president Dana White looks on during UFC 273.
UFC president Dana White was recently put on blast by Brendan Schaub for his post-fight comments on bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
Sterling unified the 135-pound belt against interim champion Petr Yan during the UFC 273 co-main event on April 9 in Jacksonville, Florida. The fight went all five rounds, with the “Funk Master” clearly winning rounds two and three, and Yan picking up rounds four and five.
It all came down to the first round, in which Sterling edged on the judges’ scorecards. He was crowned the victor via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47).
The UFC president didn’t agree with the result, however, telling the media during the post-fight press conference that he scored the contest three rounds to two for Yan.
“I thought that the judges blew that one,” White said. “I had it 3-2 the other way. I don’t know how you guys scored it. I guess it’s all in how you score that first round.”
Schaub Tore Into White for ‘[Expletive] Over’ Sterling With His Post-Fight Comments
Well, Schaub, who is a former UFC heavyweight turned MMA analyst, believes White “[expletive] over” Sterling for giving his opinion on the fight. Sterling was subjected to an immense amount of criticism over the past year for initially winning the belt from Yan via disqualification.
Many viewed the Funk Master’s title victory as illegitimate. And by defeating Yan on Saturday night, Sterling feels like he silenced his detractors.
During his “The Schaub Show” podcast, the former fighter went in on the UFC president.
“When you’re the president of the UFC, you have a responsibility,” Schaub said via MMA Fighting. “So when you say the judges got that one wrong, now you [expletive] Aljamain Sterling over. Now you [expletive] him. Because he beat the naysayers, he beat the haters, he shut everybody up.
“But now it resurfaces because the most powerful man in the UFC says, ‘He didn’t win that fight.’ Which, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re wrong, dude.”
“You [expletive] your fighter over,” Schaub continued. “Now, he has to go back to the drawing board and deal with more of this stupid [expletive] hate. And why? Because he won three out of five [rounds]? But you watch it from cageside on the little monitor, and you rush to judgment before watching it for a second or third time.
It should be your [expletive] responsibility, your duty, should be to make sure if you say that stuff that you’re going based off the criteria that the fighters have to go off of when it comes to judging. But you don’t. You came to a quick judgment, and it [expletive] your fighter. It [expletive] your champion. Because that’s out there.”
Sterling Is on a 7-Fight Win Streak, Potentially Fighting TJ Dillashaw Next
The Funk Master now holds two victories over Yan, and he’s riding a seven-fight win streak. He holds notable victories over the likes of Cory Sandhagen and Pedro Munhoz.
Sterling boasts a professional mixed martial arts record of 21-3, which includes eight wins by submission. Up next for the Funk Master could be a title tilt against former UFC bantamweight king TJ Dillashaw.
Sterling called him out after the fight and Dillashaw is ranked No. 2 in the division, as per the official UFC rankings.