Aljamain Sterling is set to defend his belt for the second time at UFC 280. Ahead of his title fight against TJ Dillashaw, Sterling made the shocking revelation that he keeps drinking alcohol for his training camp.
Talk with Nik Hobbs about sky sports‘Funk Master’ said:
“I actually drink during training camp and people ask me ‘when are you quitting?’ Even the fighters, they ask me all the time, but I drink through training camp. I don’t get high, but I get one or two after a good day of fighting.”
The bantamweight champion added:
“It’s like my reward if I had a good day and my cardio was on point and rewarding myself with something that can just help me relax and sleep well and peacefully. Everyone has their own methods for his madness and it’s mine and people think – they want to worry because I’m on a boat. If I lose because I was on a boat, I have bigger problems.”
While it’s certainly shocking to hear the mixed martial arts champ admit to drinking alcohol while preparing for a fight, the strategy clearly didn’t hamper his performance inside the octagon.
Watch Aljamain Sterling’s comments on drinking during training camp below (from 4:29):
Chael Sonnen warns Aljamain Sterling against repeating UFC 273 mistake
In a recent interview, Chael Sonnen shared a mistake Sterling cannot repeat from his UFC 273 title defense against Petr Yan. After coming out on top in the fight, Sterling appeared to roll in both rounds of the championship.
Appearing on former two-time champion Henry Cejudo’s YouTube channel to break down the fight, Sonnen said:
“You can’t waste a minute, let alone 10. It was a bad sign to Aljo. I hope he learned the lesson from it. I hope he learned that you have to get the championship and the preserve. He has to reject that strategy because TJ is taking those ten minutes. You’re gonna beat TJ all you want, you give TJ Dillashaw 10 minutes, you’re not gonna get out of this fight.
Although Sterling was able to dominate the first three rounds of his match at UFC 273 against “No Mercy”, his performance in the championship rounds left much to be desired.
Watch Chael Sonnen and Henry Cejudo break down Aljamain Sterling vs. TJ Dillashaw below:
