Aljamain Sterling issues statement after brutal KO loss to Marlon Moraes

Last night, on the main card of the UFC’s anticipated debut in the fight town of Fresno, California, former World Series of Fighting bantamweight king Marlon Moraes stepped into the cage to battle long-time contender Aljamain Sterling.

Since joining the UFC roster, Moraes has looked good, but not great, losing a debatable decision to Raphael Assuncao before winning a similarly contentious decision over John Dodson. When he stepped into the cage with Sterling, he nixed any chance of another close decision, as he authored an absolutely hellacious knockout, putting his foe down with a first-round knee.

While Moraes’ truly vicious knockout win generated plenty of excitement among the fans and his fellow fighters, it also generated some worry. Sterling, after all, had just chowed down on a heaping serving of blunt force trauma, and was napping on the canvas like a Francis Ngannou victim.

Luckily, the long-time bantamweight contender seems to be ok – both physically and mentally – at least according to a classy post-fight statement on Twitter.

Hats off to Marlon. Thought I timed the TD perfectly and he was able to land a nasty knee. Sucks to be the nail, but this is the fight game. I’m ok for all those asking 🙏🏾

— Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMaster_UFC) December 10, 2017

“Hats off to Marlon,” a sportsmanlike Aljamain Sterling said in his post-fight statement on Twitter. “Thought I timed the [takedown] perfectly and he was able to land a nasty knee. Sucks to be the nail, but this is the fight game. I’m ok for all those asking.”

With this loss, Sterling returns to the losing column after two straight wins. The first of these win saw him defeat Augusto Mendes by decision, while the most recent, which might be the biggest win of his career, saw him defeat former champion Renan Barao in a 140-pound catchweight fight.

What did you think of Marlon Moraes’ big win in Fresno? Where do you think Aljamain Sterling goes from here?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/12/2017.