UFC president Dana White has gifted star fighter Aljamain Sterling a new Lamborghini - just weeks after a war of words with the Bantamweight champion.
White was recently at the heart of a bitter feud over pay with heavyweight Francis Ngannou, who left UFC as a result. He has since been embroiled in another argument with Sterling, the reigning UFC Bantamweight champion.
Last month at UFC 288, Sterling secured a split decision win over Henry Cejudo to defend his title. White subsequently announced the 33-year-old would face Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 on August 19 - and the champion grew frustrated as he aired concerns he may not be healed in time.
White did not take Aljamain’s comments particularly well. He claimed the Jamaican had tried to postpone the clash with O’Malley because he was "one of those guys who can’t get out of his way", adding: “If you’re not healthy, don’t take the fight.
“We’ll have somebody else fight, we’ll do somebody else for the interim title. Don’t say you’re going to go out and fight and then start saying stuff like if my body holds up.”
The comments from White sparked an equally fiery response from Sterling, who accused the UFC boss of being disingenuous and taking shots at his reputation. He said: “When I say I’m going to show up, I f***ing show up and I fight.”
Later, Sterling took to social media to tweet: “I’m a phone call away boss! Respectfully, you made a fight, the night of the fight, without a single word of it mentioned to me or checking on my injuries.
“I have a personal life outside of fighting. But once again, I’ll show up and p*** in everyone’s Cheerios…again. Cheers.”
Despite their public clash, it appears White and Sterling have made up after the businessman sent a green Lamborghini Huracan sports car - worth £652,000 - to his fighter. Sterling confirmed the pair are back on good terms ahead of his clash with O’Malley after he posted an Instagram of the car, thanking White and suggesting 'green looks good on me'.
“Dana finally got me that Lambo I’ve been asking for,” Sterling told The Schmo. “He’s a man of his word. I mean it’s a pretty damn nice car, I’ll tell you that. It’s a very nice car.”
When asked if the remarkable gesture means him and White are now close friends, he replied: “I think so. He knows the money fight, he knows the real main event. I main evented the last one and he knows who to call when he needs another main event.”
