Social media influencer Aaron Steinberg, better known as Steiny, recently had a casual back-and-forth with a former UFC champion.
Steinberg, who is also a member of the Nelk Boys, a popular creator group behind the hugely successful Full Send brand, is known for collaborate with prominent figures in the martial arts world. He has already collaborated with several UFC fighters on videos, including former middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
Steiny regularly participates in friendly sparring sessions with UFC fighters for his videos and now seems to believe he can hold his own against a trained professional if necessary.
However, former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz has pushed back on that confidence, dismissing Steinberg’s assessment of his combat sports abilities as unrealistic.
Dominick Cruz pours cold water on Steiny’s overconfidence in his combat skills
During a recent episode of his Love and war podcast welcomed Dominick Cruz Steiny and gave a candid assessment of the social media influencer’s fighting abilities.
Aaron Steinberg’s talk focused on his experiences sparring with UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and former bantamweight titleholder Cody Garbrandt. Steiny reflected on a session with ‘El Matador’ and acknowledged that while he shared the most flattering moments on social media, the reality was much tougher. He admitted that the spruce gave him a bloody mouth and such severe jaw pain that he had difficulty eating the next day.
However, the Nelk Boys member insisted he entered the ring “in an attempt to get the dub,” a comment that led Cruz to question his sense of realism. “The Dominator” dismissed the claim before asking in disbelief, “Did you really think you were going to beat Topuria?”
As the discussion continued, Steiny admitted that he was wary of Garbrandt, suggesting that past tensions with the Nelk Boys could lead to the fighter “killing” him in a hypothetical match. The UFC champion turned analyst quickly retracted that belief, emphasizing that seasoned professionals approach such situations with calculated logic rather than emotion.
“He [Garbrandt] knows who to beat to get up the ladder the fastest, and you’re definitely an easy fight,” Cruz said.
“The Dominator” explained that fighters understand that decisively dropping a big-name streamer can generate significant online traction while posing little real competitive threat.
Steiny responded quickly, wondering how Cruz could be so confident in his abilities. That challenge prompted the 40-year-old Californian to issue perhaps his most pointed criticism of the exchange.
Cruz rejected the idea that fighters cannot be judged at a glance, arguing that body language and movement in martial arts reveal everything. The MMA legend added that both he and Garbrandt could easily spot the gaps in Steiny’s skills, which he believes would greatly favor the former champion.
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