Aljamain Sterling thinks Andy Foster needs to get his priorities straight.
Earlier this month, Brunno Ferreira fought Edmen Shahbazyan in a prelim bout at UFC 331. During the bout, Ferreira made use of some oblique kicks, causing a protest from Shahbazyan, who believed the maneuver to be illegal, though it is not. Shahbazyan won the fight and did not suffer any major injury from the technique, but nevertheless, afterward, California Athletic Commission Director Andy Foster announced he would be looking at banning the technique, which quickly garnered UFC CEO Dana White’s support.
While some fighters have come out in favor of a ban, many have come out against the idea, and on Wednesday, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling added his voice to the pushback, questioning how this technique is deemed anywhere near as dangerous as the rest of MMA.
“He’s gotta stop with this bullshit,” Sterling told Ariel Helwani on his YouTube channel. “It takes too long to recover? I mean, how do you recover from CTE? What the f*ck are we talking about? We’re getting head kicked with no shin pads on. We’re getting elbowed to the dome multiple times because referees want to watch a murder scene in real time happen.
“I just saw someone else get kneed in the head, and the ref is staring at him! He’s staring at this guy, knee on the ground, getting punted in the head. Can we fix accountability for following the rules first before we start trying to add new rules and change stuff?
“An oblique kick? Move your leg out the f*cking way. How about that? How about you practice the technique of moving your leg out of the way? And how many guys are actually throwing oblique kicks? Knock on wood, Vallejos, don’t kick my knees in with an oblique kick.
“But you see my point. It’s part of the game. I think we’re just being a little too drastic. ‘Oh, it’s a nasty injury!’ See a guy get flatlined with a head kick and just go completely — like a sack of potatoes gets dropped, that’s pretty scary, too. What happened to Raoni Barcelos, that’s pretty scary, too. This is a scary sport. We know what we signed up for. You guys wanna watch us play paddle ball? What the f*ck?”
Sterling is far from the only person to feel this way, especially when it comes to matters surrounding the enforcement of the rules as they currently sit. MMA refereeing has come under heavy scrutiny over the past few years as some refs have openly admitted to not wanting to enforce the rules by taking points, even in the face of repeated fouls. And for Sterling, that should be a much higher priority for Foster than adding another rule that referees won’t enforce against.
“Respect to Andy Foster, he checked up on me when Marlon Moraes sent me to another dimension, but there are bigger things that we have to worry about,” Sterling said. “Like simply following the rules and enforcing them that already in place. That seem to be missed by the gold standard refs of the century. And I’m not saying it’s an easy job, but go back and watch the tape and go, ‘Why did I miss that?’
“Accountability. Why did I miss that? What can I do to be better? And it doesn’t seem like a lot of refs give a f*ck.”
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VIDEO STEW
UFC 332 Media Day Highlights.
Natalia Silva and Wang Cong at Media Day.
Mike Heck chats with UFC Vegas 121 standout Luis Hernandez.
UFC 332 Embedded.
FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR
No Bets Barred.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Navajo Stirling, I wasn’t familiar with your game.
This trash talk is just kind of weird, right?
Forbidden tech.
Preach.
OK then.
Why
Sorry, Tito.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Marcus McGhee (11-2) vs. Anthony Romero (7-2, 1 NC); UFC 332, Oct. 3
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FINAL THOUGHTS
Aljo nails it. Literally spot on. Don’t add more dumb rules to MMA; add accountability to referees and judges. And legalize knees to grounded opponents because it’s just idiotic at this point.
EXIT POLL
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