Aljamain Sterling doubles down on Tom Aspinall injury take after firestorm of fan backlash

Former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling responded to fans who blasted him for a strong stance on Tom Aspinall’s eye injury at UFC 321.

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall’s first undisputed title defense ended in controversy after Ciryl Gane accidentally double-poked him in the eyes just minutes into the fight at UFC 321. After taking five full minutes to try to recover, Aspinall was deemed unable to continue competing after telling cageside doctors that he couldn’t see.

It was a tragic end to what was largely a lackluster card on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Outside of the main card wins by Mackenzie Dern and Umar Nurmagomedov, there weren’t many memorable moments at UFC 321.

Aspinall came under fire from fans, pundits, and some of his fellow fighters for opting not to continue competing following the eye injury. One such critic was Aljamain Sterling, who questioned the severity of Aspinall’s injury and hinted he prematurely quit.

Fans scorched Sterling on social media following his statement. Hours later, Sterling went online to double down on his stance.

Aljamain Sterling: ‘Don’t be mad at me’ over Tom Aspinall UFC 321 take

In a recent follow-up video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sterling responded to fan backlash from his Aspinall criticism.

“I made some comments on the Aspinall fight and how he handled the situation of the foul, and I think my opinion still stands,” Sterling said.

“Yeah, you can say because I’ve been fouled and you guys think that I faked an injury, but I did not. We’ve clarified this multiple times. Bad rehydration, felt like sh*t, I got blasted in the head, and I barely knew where I was at the time. Yes, it looked like I acted of whatever. I can understand that. But I have nothing to say to that.

“The fact still remains: When Tommy got poked in the eye, the first thing he said is, ‘I cannot see.’ We all know when you are fouled, you cannot say those words otherwise the referee is inclined to stop the fight,” Sterling continued. “That’s just the way the rules are made. Don’t be mad at me.” (h/t MMA Junkie)