"Hold your head Will" - Aljamain Sterling extends his support for Will Smith in the wake of Chris Rock controversy at the Oscars

Aljamain Sterling extended his support to Will Smith after his controversy with Chris Rock at the Oscars.

Smith, who won the Best Actor award at the 94th annual Academy Awards, shocked the in-person audience and those watching the event live around the world when he slapped Chris Rock onstage.

Rock took to the stage to introduce the Best Documentary feature and made a joke about Smith’s wife. He compared Jada Pinkett-Smith to 'G.I. Jane' because of the hair loss condition she suffers from.

After slapping Rock, the actor screamed, "Keep my wife’s name out of your f*****g mouth.” The incident went viral instantly and has invited a lot of criticism towards both sides.

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling took to Twitter and had the following to say about the incident:

"Will Smith and Denzel Washington. Two bosses in my book. Hold your head Will. We all have moments of being REAL people. Especially the ones pointing the finger."

According to reports, a tearful Smith needed to be pulled aside and comforted by Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry. The trio could be seen talking right in front of the stage during an advert break, with Washington and Perry putting their hands on his shoulders.

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Marlon Vera predicts an easy win for Petr Yan in Aljamain Sterling rematch

Rising bantamweight fighter Marlon Vera will be keeping a close eye on the UFC 273 co-main event between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling. The Ecuadorian thinks 'No Mercy' clearly has the upper hand.

‘Chito’, who will be looking to elevate himself into title contention with a win over Rob Font in his next fight, thinks Yan is the superior striker and will use his boxing to devastating effect.

Vera told Ariel Helwani during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour:

“That fight, on paper, it’s pretty easy [for] Yan. He just has way better striking, but that’s the thing with MMA. Sometimes you don’t need to be Israel Adesanya to win a fight. MMA, the speed is different, the range is different. You f*****g throw three hooks in a row and oops, you won. It’s not a sport like boxing or kickboxing, most guys are like, perfect technique... on paper, I do believe Yan kicks his a** because Sterling gets tired every time he’s not able to get a hold of you. He gets tired quick. He gets anxious. Yan is pretty calm in there."

Check out Vera's appearance on The MMA Hour below:

Yan was ahead in his March 2021 bantamweight title bout against 'Funk Master' but was disqualified after landing an illegal knee in the fourth round. Despite losing the title, ‘No Mercy’ is considered the real bantamweight champ by many of his fans.