Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling made his featherweight debut at UFC 300 towards eighth-ranked Calvin Kattar. If he had misplaced, Sterling could have retired.
“Combat day within the backroom is after I actually began to second guess plenty of all the things. I used to be simply having doubt of like, man, if this does not go properly I do not know the place I am going from right here,” Sterling mentioned on The MMA Hour. “Do I proceed to maintain preventing? Do I simply name it quits type of factor? These are actual ideas I had.
“On the finish of the day, I am not simply making an attempt to gather a examine. There’s so many guys that stick round simply to try this. I respect them, however I am right here to be primary,” Sterling continued. “If it is similar to I will be within the pack, I’ve made sufficient cash. I feel I’ve performed sufficient in my profession the place I am like, alright, it is most likely time to discover a new job. That is type of the way in which I take a look at issues. In the event you’re not first, you are final.”
Sterling saved his interior monologue to himself. He did not inform his coaches, teammates, or his fiancé that he was interested by retiring if he misplaced.
“It is dependent upon how it could have occurred,” he mentioned. “If I had acquired my a** fully kicked by Calvin Kattar, I used to be most likely performed. Nobody knew about that. I did not share these sentiments with anyone.”
Luckily for “Funk Grasp,” he defeated Kattar by unanimous determination and changed Kattar within the eighth spot within the featherweight rankings. He expects to be again within the octagon this fall and needs to combat the best ranked opponent that he can get.
