Aljamain Sterling Reacts To Demetrious Johnson's Take On UFC 288 Main Event

Aljamain Sterling has a response for Demetrious Johnson after his recent comments on the UFC 288 main event title fight.

(via IMAGO/ZUMA Wire & Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling is aware of Demetrious Johnson's take on his UFC 288 main event win over Henry Cejudo.

Sterling successfully defended the UFC Bantamweight Championship in a highly competitive title fight against Cejudo at UFC 288. After five rounds of action, Sterling maintained his hold on the 135-pound gold via split decision.

READ MORE: Aljamain Sterling: UFC's Sean O'Malley Not The "Big Draw That He Thinks He Is"

While Sterling was mostly praised for his performance, there were still some naysayers who complained about Sterling using the UFC ruleset to his advantage to avoid knees from his opponent while on the ground.

During an interview with Ariel Helwani on MMAFighting's "The MMA Hour," Sterling responded to the criticism.

"I know people were talking about, 'Oh, it was a champion on his knees. Ugh, he's playing to the ruleset.' It's like, guys, if I had Henry there I would've punished him in that position."

Former top UFC titleholder and current ONE Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson chimed in on the fight. While Johnson had no complaints about Sterling's strategy, he told MMAJunkie that he feels Cejudo would've beaten the "Funk Master" under ONE Championship rules.

Sterling caught wind of "Mighty Mouse's" take and had the following to say:

"It's not ONE FC," Sterling said. "If it was ONE FC, then obviously, I don't take those shots. So, it's just like you play to your strengths. You play behind the rules."

READ MORE: UFC Champ Aljamain Sterling Opines On Whether Or Not Henry Cejudo Should Retire

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