"I’m their favorite now" - Aljamain Sterling gives sly response to Sean Strickland's question on why everybody 'hates' him

Aljamain Sterling is not bothered by the fact that a large section of MMA fans do not like him as a UFC bantamweight champion. Sterling’s rise to the champion’s status was controversial, to say the least.

To erase the memory of his unceremonious ascension, Sterling has defended the title multiple times. However, fans have refused to forgive ‘Funkmaster’ even after two years.

UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland is no stranger to being on the receiving end of hatred either. The outspoken fighter has been attacked for his outlandish statements on several occasions. But surprisingly, ‘Tarzan’ was wondering why fans hate Aljamain Sterling so much and voiced his concern on Twitter.

“Why does everyone hate Aljo??” Strickland wrote.

Sterling did not break that character and claimed that people hate him for losing their money betting on ‘Funkmaster’s opponents.

“They lost money betting on their former favorite fighters. I’m their favorite now,” Aljamain Sterling responded.

Aljamain Sterling is coming off a unanimous decision win over former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 in May 2023. The win extended his UFC winning streak to nine. Sterling also holds the record for most consecutive title defenses [three] in UFC bantamweight history, surpassing Dominick Cruz. He will put his title on the line against fan-favorite fighter Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 event scheduled to take place on August 19, 2023.

---

Aljamain Sterling predicts another letdown for his haters at UFC 292

Aljamain Sterling has been rejected by the audience even in his second title defense against the controversial former champion TJ Dillashaw. He will face a far bigger challenge from the fans' point of view while going up against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292.

O’Malley is coming off a split-decision win over former champion Petr Yan at UFC 280 and has all the momentum he needs going into the biggest fight of his career so far.

However, ‘Sugar’ is primarily a striker and Sterling believes that his grappling will make a huge difference when they get locked inside the octagon. 'Funkmaster' gave his take on the fight in a recent tweet and predicted a second-round win for himself.

"Sean will be a good striking test. But he makes one mistake and he’ll be on his back. GnP TKO, round 2! I’ve seen it play out hundred of times now. Almost time to execute the vision," Sterling tweeted.

Aljamain Sterling has proven the fight fans wrong on several occasions by now. However, he admits that O’Malley’s striking is a good test for him. So it will be interesting to see if he can leave a sour taste in the mouths of his haters once again.