Henoc Maurice, Aljamain Sterling's friend and co-host of the Weekly Scraps Podcast, took aim at cynics accusing the bantamweight champion of faking a concussion at UFC 259.
'The Funk Master' won the title from Petr Yan after the Russian was disqualified for landing a knee to a downed opponent. The illegal strike left Sterling with a concussion. However, many, including Yan, were critical of the 32-year-old's claim.
In a clip posted to Aljamain Sterling's YouTube channel, Henoc Maurice backed up Sterling's claim to the title and blasted anyone who accused 'The Funk Master' of feigning a concussion:
"Everybody's like, 'aw, he faked it.' Nobody knows. I don't even think you talked about this when you were at the house and could barely get up. When you had to go to the bathroom and was throwing up. Nobody knows that because I know you don't like looking like all this. But I'm going to say Aljo was in the bathroom throwing up, saying 'Bro I don't know what's wrong with my head.' Y'all didn't see the aftermath. So when I said, 'Bro, you're a champion. Say I am a champion. You are.' So all that backlash. I was the one who told him to do that."
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Here's the clip of Henoc Maurice reacting to claims that Aljamain Sterling faked a concussion:
Aljamain Sterling throws powerful spinning back kicks in preparation for Petr Yan fight
Aljamain Sterling was set to defend the bantamweight championship in a rematch against Petr Yan at UFC 267. However, he was forced to pull out of the fight due to lingering neck issues. While Sterling was out of action, Petr Yan defeated Cory Sandhagen to win the interim championship at the event.
A title unification bout is next on the agenda. Sterling recently intimated that he was hopeful of returning to action in February or March.
While training for a second meeting with his nemesis, the 32-year-old posted a clip of him throwing destructive kicks on Twitter.
Check out the video of Aljamain Sterling's devastating striking below: