Our sport is built on moments that make you go, “HOLY F@$%ING $#!@.” That moment is a most frequently a knockout, but every front has a back. At UFC Fight Night 123 Marlon Moraes scored a KO of the year contender vs. Aljamain Sterling.
Moraes immediately showed concern for his opponent. Sterling was stretchered out, and afterward did not know what happened.
https://twitter.com/UFCONFOX/status/939720807428759552
During a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour Sterling talked about the other side of the highlight reel, and respectfully has some suggestions.
I enjoy being a part of the UFC, of course, but I definitely think they could have done a lot better with updating the fans and everybody else, said Sterling as transcribed by Alexander K. Lee for MMA Fighting. Especially, we have loved ones back home, so I had people trying to call me, trying to reach me, they couldn’t get in touch with me, obviously I was still delirious, delusional. Had no service, so the least they could have done was get a follow-up report and get something out for the press or something at least for the people who are actively checking and wanted to really know, who are actually really concerned about how I was doing, and to actually have some peace of mind and to know what was going on.
Not for nothing, I’ve been getting along a lot better with Sean Shelby and even Dana White himself, obviously it’s a business relationship so I don’t expect these guys to be my friends or my best friends, I don’t look at it like that. But at least a text message to say, ‘Just checking to see if you’re doing OK. Making sure you’re alive.’ I think that’s common courtesy. I’m technically one of your employees, no matter if you want to call it self-employed, I’m still one of your employees. If you were my boss and I didn’t like you, I’m still going to check on your well-being, that’s just how I am, but from a human being standpoint I think that would have been a cool thing to wake up to.
It was kind of a letdown. I almost wanted to text them sarcastically and be like, ‘Hey, just to let you guys know, I’m alive.’ But like I said, it’s a business relationship, I know what I signed up for, I don’t expect these guys to be my friends, I just thought they would have had a little bit more human decency to do something like that.
And I’m not trying to put them in any position, I just think for the future, not just saying ‘Woe is me’, but for other fighters, it would go a long way in terms of the fighters’ minds and how we perceive our bosses. It makes it seem like they actually give a s***, that’s all I’m saying.
Just watching it over and over, I watched the way I landed, I was like, ‘Jesus Christ, that looks so bad’. I really felt for my friends and family that were back home looking at it and thinking, like, if I was alright, because it looks like I freaking died in there, man… There’s not much I can say. You just take your hits on the chin and move on, that’s life. I’ve been knocked down a few times in my life and it’s nothing different. It just sucks that it happens your first time on the main card in your ninth UFC appearance and you get freaking put down in 67 seconds. It was just unreal.
Sterling is suspended indefinitely with no contact for 30 days. After fighting four times in 2017, he plans to rest his body for a little while.
