Aljamain Sterling and Kevin Vallejos trade barbs before UFC Qatar
Aljamain Sterling and Kevin Vallejos traded social media jabs less than a month out from their featherweight meeting in Qatar, with the Argentinian daring the American to grapple and promising a knockout, and the reply landing in kind.
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Aljamain Sterling e Kevin Vallejos trocam farpas a pouco menos de um mês do duelo marcado para Doha, no Catar, no dia 21. O confronto, válido pelos pesos-penas (66 kg) do UFC, ganhou clima mais hostil depois de uma sequência de provocações nas redes sociais.
O pontapé inicial foi do argentino. Vallejos cutucou o rival ao pedir que Sterling, criado na luta agarrada, evitasse as quedas, sob o argumento de que seria nocauteado caso se cansasse no combate.
“Tente me agarrar e você vai se cansar. E quando você se cansar, eu vou te nocautear”, escreveu o prospecto argentino.
A resposta do americano veio na mesma moeda. “Não seja derrubado, confie em mim. Você não vai se levantar, a menos que o árbitro intervenha”, rebateu o wrestler.
Além da rixa, o duelo entre dois ranqueados pode definir quem será o próximo desafiante ao cinturão. O campeão peso-pena Alexander Volkanovski citou recentemente Jean Silva e Aljo entre os nomes cotados para a disputa do título.
O australiano, no entanto, admitiu que, se Sterling vencer no UFC Catar, seria ele o mais merecedor da vaga entre os dois — e, por consequência, o próximo adversário na categoria. Já um triunfo do argentino poderia beneficiar Jean Silva na fila contra Volkanovski.
Vallejos tem a trocação como especialidade, enquanto Sterling construiu a carreira sobre a luta agarrada — origens que explicam o tom das provocações trocadas nas redes.
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