Sotiropoulos says controversy overblown, critics late to party
To hear UFC lightweight contender George Sotiropoulos (13-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) tell it, there’s really no controversy at all. Sure,…
To hear UFC lightweight contender George Sotiropoulos (13-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) tell it, there’s really no controversy at all.
Sure, Sotiropoulos admits his combination of compression shorts, knee pads and ankle pads likely give him a little extra grip, but the Australian insists the material makes his limbs more susceptible to submission attacks, as well.
Besides, the Australian reckons, the complainers are a little late to the party anyway.
“Nobody complained when I wore them against George Roop and Jason Dent,” Sotiropoulos told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I beat (Joe) Stevenson, I beat (Kurt) Pellegrino, and all of a sudden it’s an issue. Let’s backtrack to Jason Dent and George Roop. Why didn’t you say anything then?”
It’s a valid point. Of course at the time, the former cast member of “The Ultimate Fighter 6” wasn’t very high on most MMA fans’ radar. But after a “Fight of the Night” win over Stevenson and a dominant decision over Pellegrino, Sotiropoulos is now established as a legitimate contender in the UFC’s lightweight division.
But Sotiropoulos doesn’t believe it should matter either way.
“Firstly, it’s well within the rules what I’m doing,” Sotiropoulos said. “Lots of fighters have done it: Randy Couture, B.J. Penn, Frank Mir, Tim Sylvia, just to mention a few. The list goes on. It’s well within the rules.”