Marlon Vera thinks Aljamain Sterling lacks killer instincts which many fighters have.
Countless fighters have said they are ready to die when they step inside the Octagon, and Vera is just like them. He says he is ready to die but also wants to slug it out with fighters while he doubts Sterling is like that.
Marlon Vera On Aljamain Sterling
“Honestly, it’s hard to know,” Vera told Submission Radio. “I believe T.J. is gonna (be) the aggressive guy who is gonna come and look for the fight.”
“Aljamain, the guy is not a guy that’s gonna be willing to f*cking die in there and just sit down and scrap. He always tried to get a hold of you, get you tired, ground and pound you and hoping for a submission. His whole career, he’s been fighting like that. That doesn’t mean he’s not a good fighter, that doesn’t mean he’s not gonna beat you. That’s what you’re gonna be fooled by. Yeah, he’s probably not gonna be mean and try to f*ck you up, but he will definitely get a hold of you and ruin your night.”
With Vera not thinking Sterling has the killer instinct, he believes TJ Dillashaw will have success at UFC 280. He thinks the former champ can defend the takedowns and force Sterling to stand and strike which Vera thinks Sterling is at his worse.
If Dillashaw can do that, Vera believes the former champ will get his hand raised and become the new champ.
“I think it all comes down to wrestling and control, but T.J. is a real wrestler,” Vera added. “I’m not. I’m good at it, I keep getting better, but I didn’t grow up wrestling. I’m more like a real fighter. I really like to fight and I’ll fight anywhere, but T.J. went to high school wrestling the whole thing, so if T.J. can keep him away from him and just put pressure, that can be a hard night for Aljamain looking at how he fought in the past. He really gets shy when somebody defends the takedown and is like, ‘F*ck you, I’m gonna kick your ass.’ But we’ll see.”
If Dillashaw does end up beating Sterling at UFC 280, Vera could be in line for a title shot.
