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Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling spoke with prominent MMA journalist Helen Yee ahead of his bout at UFC 307 next month. The 'Funk Master' will face surging Russian standout Movsar Evloev in a three-round featherweight fight.
One of the topics Yee and Sterling spoke about was UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex 'Poatan' Pereira, who will defend his belt against Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event of the night. This will be the Brazilian world champion's third title bout this year and fourth within a 12-month period.
On Pereira's rather quick turnaround time between big fights, Sterling said:
"It just seems like Alex Pereira is always saving the day so I hope his paycheck reflects that [laughs]. I'm not saying that like, they didn't have a main event but he just fought for him to be turning around like this, I'm like, bro, do you know what the word vacation means? Like, go do that."
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Catch Aljamain Sterling's comments below (19:35):
Aljamain Sterling on Noche UFC 306's main event: "You might see the Mexican Merab come out"
At Noche UFC 306 this weekend, Aljamain Sterling's trainer partner, Merab Dvalishvili, will challenge 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley for the UFC bantamweight world title. O'Malley famously knocked out Sterling for the title in the second round at UFC 292 last year. This time, 'Funk Master' will be giving valuable notes to his teammate Dvalishvili, who will look to avoid the mistakes the former champion made.
On Dvalishvili's chances against O'Malley, Sterling said (7:05):
"It's just up to Merab [Dvalishvili] to go out there and just do what he does best. And if he's himself, I think it's gonna be a great night for the team and again, there's a chance for [Sean] O'Malley to win, there's chance for Merab to win. It's a fight. Anything can happen, and you never know, you might the Mexican Merab come out."
In prizefighting, being called a "Mexican" doesn't necessarily mean you're born in the Hispanic country. This means you're an exciting and aggressive fighter who takes can take a hit as well as deliver - a style that became synonymous to fighters like Julio Cesar Chavez, Marco Antonio Barrerra, and Juan Manuel Marquez.
