ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – You won’t hear UFC bantamweight Aljamain Sterling blame anyone other than himself for what happened in his most recent octagon appearance.

He made a mistake, and he got knocked out – end of story.

“But it just happens,” Sterling told reporters in advance of his FS1-televised meeting with Brett Johns, which takes place Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. “I can’t put anything more into that. I can’t go, ‘My training camp this, I shouldn’t have had that extra chocolate bar.’ That didn’t make the difference.”

What did was Sterling’s mindset the moment before he shot in “from Guam” against Marlon Moraes, who at the time of the fight last December was still building critical mass after a title-winning run in the WSOF and two fights in the UFC.

Sterling had put Moraes back on the mat and liked what he’d felt in the grappling exchange. He figured if he could just get Moraes back to the mat, he’d surely lock in a fight-ending submission, and all that hype flowing toward the Brazilian up-and-comer would change direction.

Instead, Moraes replied to the takedown with a kick, and his kneecap caught Sterling on the jaw, knocking him out cold.

Sterling aims to change the thinking that led to his high-risk gamble, not the environment that shaped him into the fighter he is today. He could easily toss aside his MMA team, change his diet, or any number of other things fighters often do after a devastating loss. But he knows that wouldn’t change anything.

“I got a little too greedy, too soon, and I didn’t let the finish come,” Sterling said. “I didn’t set it up and let it materialize. I just tried to say, ‘I’m going to go from point A to point Z in one second,’ and I shot from Guam. I watched that replay 100 times. I don’t get bent out of shape about it. You sign up for this. If you can’t deal with that, you’re in the wrong sport.”

If Sterling (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) had to venture what his advantage is heading into Saturday’s fight is that he’s facing a fighter who’s never had to learn such a public lesson. Johns (15-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) comes into the fight on a three-fight winning streak and remains undefeated as a professional. Sterling used to be in that position and remembers how that felt. While he’d obviously rather have never experienced any setbacks in the octagon, he takes strength from the knowledge he’s gained through them.

“Brett’s never felt that humiliated before,” Sterling said. “He’s never felt a loss. He’s never felt that adversity of being behind on the scorecards, so this is going to be a big test for him. So I know when the chips are down, I can rally back, and I can come back, and I can fight the entire 15 minutes.”

In facing Johns, Sterling gets another chance to pop the hype bubble of an up-and-comer. If he performs as he expects, he might even show up another red-hot UFC prospect, Zabit Magomedsharipov.

“I know the opponent is not Brett Johns,” he said. “The opponent is myself. I know what I can do, and if I open up and show everyone my entire tool bag, it will be quite the performance.

“Pretty Zabit-like, I must say. I just have to find the rhythm, and you’ll see some crazy stuff coming out.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 128, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.