UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling seems to have admitted to gambling on himself for his upcoming title defense against Sean O’Malley.
Heading into what will be his fourth title defense this weekend, Sterling riding high and is expecting to handle business and further cement his legacy as bantamweight champion. In fact, Sterling is so confident, he recently claimed that he has ‘bet’ on himself.
“I double down on myself every time,” Sterling said in his latest YouTube video. “So if you’re asking me, I double down on myself every time. I bet on myself every single time. So for me – I’m not telling you what to do with your money, I know what I’m doing with my money. I’m betting on me baby, I’m betting on me.” (H/T MMA News)
Like most sports, gambling has a huge connection to MMA with betting lines and props even being read on broadcast and before fights. However, after a recent scandal, there has been a huge shift in what is allowed by the UFC.
James Krause, who made a successful transition from fighter to coach ignited a full investigation after suspicious betting activity was linked to a fighter which he trained and cornered. This led to more allegations coming to light about Krause, the full extent to which is still not fully clear.
Aljamain Sterling may have violated UFC policy
Following this, the UFC made significant changes to their conduct policy, making it so that fighters or anyone connected to them cannot place bets on any UFC event, including their own.
“We have made enhancements to our UFC Athlete Conduct Policy to more clearly express the prohibition against any UFC athlete from placing any wagers directly or through a third party on any UFC match, including placing wagers on themselves,” Riché T. McKnight, UFC executive vice president said in a statement.
While Sterling likely isn’t stupid enough to bet on himself and admit to it, the wording of his statement was not the best.
How does Aljamain Sterling get on this weekend?