"Pretty disrespectful to the belt” - Aljamain Sterling critiques Marlon Vera being granted title shot against Sean O’Malley

Aljamain Sterling has shared a damning review of Marlon Vera being granted a coveted UFC title shot against Sean O'Malley.

The pair faced off in the main event of UFC 299 on Mar. 9 in a much-anticipated rematch, with 'Sugar' hoping to successfully defend the title he won against Sterling at UFC 292.

Given that Vera holds the only victory over O'Malley, a TKO win at UFC 252, the promotion scheduled their rematch after the 29-year-old won the title. The UFC 299 headliner went all five rounds, with 'Sugar' putting on his greatest performance to date, winning via unanimous decision.

'Chito' absorbed a staggering amount of damage, and his lackluster performance has been used as fuel by 'Funk Master,' who shared his frustration with the matchmaking.

The former bantamweight champion took to X and wrote this:

"Lol and somehow I’m the hater for pointing out these facts that Chito is solid, but did not belong in there “on that night”. All because of a former loss, we gave a layup title defense? It’s pretty disrespectful to the belt and what it means, and to all the other hard-working competitors, working their a**es off to EARN to that position. Respect for Chito taking that damage for 25min.."

See Aljamain Sterling's post below:

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Aljamain Sterling blasts Sean O'Malley for avoiding Merab Dvalishvili

Sean O'Malley successfully defended his bantamweight title against Marlon Vera in Miami with a superb striking display that left his opponent battered and bruised.

Following his victory, 'Sugar' took to calling out the new featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria, who recently defeated Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. But his callout of 'El Matador' was dismissed by the Spaniard, who told O'Malley to focus on the surging challenge of Merab Dvalishvili first.

A teammate of Dvalishvili's, Aljamain Sterling, has now taken a jibe at the bantamweight king, claiming he attempted to avoid 'The Machine' by calling out Topuria.

During a recap of UFC 299, 'Funk Master' said this:

"He should have called out Merab and done the right thing. I think it's kind of ridiculous for him to say, 'Dana get the jet to Spain!' What are you talking about, dude? You defended the belt against a guy who wasn't even ranked in the top five."

Watch Aljamain Sterling's video below from 7:10: