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Tag: Aljamain Sterling

  • Aljamain Sterling Calls Movsar Evloev A Drug Cheat: ‘Same Thing People Were Saying About TJ Dillashaw
’

    Aljamain Sterling Calls Movsar Evloev A Drug Cheat: ‘Same Thing People Were Saying About TJ Dillashaw
’

    Aljamain Sterling may not hold any ill-will against his next opponent but he does have some serious accusations about him.

    At UFC 307, the former bantamweight champion will look to produce back-to-back wins since moving up to featherweight.

    In order to build on his UFC 300 victory over Calvin Kattar, he will need to hand Movsar Evloev the first loss of his career.

    The 18-0 Russian has clearly been one of the best in the division since his arrival in the UFC but in “Funkmaster”, faces a very tough test.

    Sterling recently made some comments to suggest that all of Evloev’s accomplishments have been unfairly assisted during his career.

    Aljamain Sterling Says He’s Heard Stories Of Movsar Evloev Being A Drug Cheat, Teaching Others His Methods

    In a recent interview with Jake Noecker for Home of Fight, Sterling said that he believes that Evloev has been cheating at some stage in his career by using performance-enhancing drugs.

    He said that he has his suspicions as to whether his upcoming opponent in Salt Lake City on October 5 is a clean athlete because of things that he has been told in the past.

    Though he did make it very clear that he has no firm evidence of this, Sterling says that they have mutual friends that he used to train with, who are now a part of Evloev’s camp or were, at one point in time.

    The former 135-pound king compared what he has heard to when Cody Garbrandt acted as a whistle-blower against his former teammate TJ Dillashaw and wasn’t taken seriously, only for the former champion to later test positive for EPO.

    “I just think, from what I’ve heard through the grapevine, he’s not a clean athlete and I think that’s just what it comes down to and people can say whatever, ‘You have no proof.’ I’m like dude, the same thing people were saying about TJ Dillashaw from years ago, him teaching people how to do it, Cody Garbrandt calling him out at the press conference and everyone sweeping it under the rug, telling TJ to his face that you taught everyone how to do it. Those conversations are not very different from what I’ve had about Movsar and I think where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

    “Do I have any hard evidence like did I see the guy stick a needle up his a**? No. Did he pop for anything yet? No, maybe he never will but at the day, only him and his consciousness will know if he’s truly a clean athlete or not and I really so believe, I truly do believe he knows he’s cheating. It is what it is, I’m gonna fight him, I’ve fought multiple guys who’ve done stuff, whether or not they got caught.”

    Read also: Alex Pereira Reiterates Plan For Middleweight Return Post-UFC 307, Magomed Ankalaev Reacts With Anger

  • Former Champ Analyzes Topuria vs. Holloway Title Fight At UFC 308: ‘What Happens If You Could Set A Little Fatigue In Him?’

    Former Champ Analyzes Topuria vs. Holloway Title Fight At UFC 308: ‘What Happens If You Could Set A Little Fatigue In Him?’

    Aljamain Sterling recently offered his insights on the upcoming featherweight title clash between reigning champion Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway at UFC 308.

    “El Matador” is gearing up to put his title on the line for the first time against Holloway in the headlining bout of an eagerly awaited pay-per-view event set to take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on October 26.

    Topuria claimed the 145-pound championship with a stunning knockout of former titleholder Alexander Volkanovski in the second round at UFC 298 in February. He has secured five victories in under two rounds, dismantling formidable foes such as Bryce Mitchell, Jai Herbert, and Josh Emmett.

    On the other hand, “Blessed” is preparing for his third bid to recapture the featherweight crown, which slipped from his grasp against Volkanovski back in December 2019. Despite two valiant rematch efforts that fell short, Holloway has roared back with a trio of victories. He is coming off a last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje in a lightweight showdown at UFC 300 in April, a victory that also crowned him the BMF champion.

    Topuria has built his reputation on a combination of aggressive striking and powerful grappling. Meanwhile, Holloway’s extensive experience and resilience make him a daunting challenge for any opponent.

    “Funk Master” suggests that if Holloway can expertly control the distance and fully capitalize on his reach advantage, he has a real shot at toppling Topuria.

    Sterling Predicts Holloway Might Push Topuria To His Limits In Championship Rounds

    During a recent appearance on Verse Us with Eric Nicksick, Sterling weighed in on the Topuria vs. Holloway clash at UFC 308. The former UFC bantamweight champion acknowledged “El Matador’s” knockout power, yet he pointed out several potential vulnerabilities.

    Sterling believes that if Holloway can maintain the fight on the feet and execute his striking game with precision, it could spell trouble for the defending champion.

    “Topuria is a savage; that guy can crack, but he struggled with Volkanovski in the first round,” Sterling said. “Enter Max Holloway: great footwork, high guard, long punches. He has shorter reach than Volkanovski, but his footwork is what helps him so much in his fights, and he’s great durability. So if he gets back to his kicking game and stays in his range—Topuria, I think, is 5’6″, maybe 5’7″. Max has a shorter reach for a guy at 145 pounds; I think it’s like 67″. So you look at that, you look at Topuria’s great grappling, but Max has great takedown defense. If Max could stay on his bike and touch him from the outside, it would be very interesting to see what happens in the later rounds.”

    “Funk Master” went on to highlight that Topuria’s cardio remains relatively untested, and he suggested that if “Blessed” can extend the fight into the fourth and fifth rounds while maintaining a measured striking approach, it could pose yet another challenge for the undefeated Georgian-Spaniard.

    “We haven’t seen Topuria [get] exhausted or tired yet. In round five with Josh Emmett, he was in the driver’s seat the whole time, but what happens if you could set a little fatigue in him—him having some failed takedown attempts, or even if he gets the takedowns and Max can get back up—it makes the fight very interesting. He’s always in your face with those spinning back kicks. If Max gets back to the old-school Max, it’s a very intriguing fight.”

  • Aljamain Sterling’s Cornerman Clarifies Any Doubt Over Faking Petr Yan Disqualification & Title Win

    Aljamain Sterling’s Cornerman Clarifies Any Doubt Over Faking Petr Yan Disqualification & Title Win

    Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has always had a somewhat rocky relationship with certain parts of the MMA fanbase.

    “Funkmaster” has an awkward striking style and a strong grappling game which means that his fights aren’t always the most exciting to watch, even if he’s incredibly effective at what he does.

    Aside from this, another point that saw some of the UFC’s audience take a dislike to Sterling was what happened at UFC 259, where he challenged Petr Yan for the 135-pound title.

    Yan landed an illegal knee to Sterling’s head whilst he was a downed opponent in the fourth round which the challenger couldn’t recover from.

    As a result, Yan was disqualified, meaning that the title changed hands in disappointing fashion.

    Eric Nicksick Recalls How Aljamain Sterling Had No Memory Of UFC 259 On His Journey Home

    Despite the knee strike being a clear and obvious foul on Yan’s side, some fans didn’t like the way Sterling won the title as a result, and questioned whether he actually couldn’t continue or if he was looking for a way out because the fight wasn’t going his way.

    This was cleared up during a recent episode of the Verse Us podcast where Sterling joined Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick, who was in his corner on that night.

    Nicksick provided more details about how that decision was made to not continue and what the aftermath of that knee landing was like.

    He recalled how, after nominating himself to stay with Sterling and take him back home from the hospital, it was clear that he had no memory of what had just happened.

    “I said to Ray [Longo], I’ll go to the hospital with him and I had to sit in the f****** parking lot. You didn’t get to sit in the waiting room, this is COVID era so I get a text from him or whoever was kind of there, one of the nurses or UFC personnel, ‘Hey, he’s ready, you can come around the back, you can pick him up.’

    “We get in the car and what, 30-minute ride home and this is why I know, from a personal level, that this dude wasn’t faking. 30-minutes of him asking round after round after round. I say this because guys that I know that have been knocked out or have had head trauma have asked the same questions. ‘What happened in round one? What happened in round two?’ Going through everything in their head.”

    Sterling returns at UFC 307 where he faces Movsar Evloev in search of his second consecutive win at featherweight.

    Read also: Aljamain Sterling Accuses Sean O’Malley Of Being Given The ‘Jake Paul Route’ By The UFC: “Stacking The Deck Against His Opponent”

  • Aljamain Sterling Accuses Sean O’Malley Of Being Given The ‘Jake Paul Route’ By The UFC: ‘Stacking The Deck Against His Opponent’

    Aljamain Sterling Accuses Sean O’Malley Of Being Given The ‘Jake Paul Route’ By The UFC: ‘Stacking The Deck Against His Opponent’

    Aljamain Sterling believes that UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has had assistance from the promotion to help build him into a star.

    Though “Suga” still has to beat the opponents that are put in front of him, and has done so in spectacular fashion, his former opponent thinks that this has been aided to some degree.

    The previous titleholder compared O’Malley’s run in the bantamweight division to Jake Paul’s career in boxing, where at a face level, he’s delivering inside the ring by producing huge fights and big knockouts.

    Where a lot of people have issues with Paul’s victories is where the odds are heavily weighted in his favor by things like weight discrepancies and big differentials in both activity and experience.

    Aljamain Sterling Says UFC Always Planned To Talk Him Into Quick Turnaround For Sean O’Malley Title Defense

    Sterling recently appeared on the Verse Us podcast with Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick where he spoke about O’Malley’s upcoming title defense against his friend and training partner, Merab Dvalishvili.

    “Funkmaster” used his own experiences of fighting “Suga” at UFC 292 to explain why he believes there is a comparison that can be made to “The Problem Child”.

    Sterling says that not only was O’Malley fast-tracked into a title shot, he was made to defend his belt against the returning Henry Cejudo first and claims that the promotion were always going to push him towards making a quick turnaround for UFC 292, which would hinder his preparations and recovery.

    The current featherweight contender, who is back in action at UFC 307, has been very outspoken about this decision and how he was eventually talked into fighting O’Malley in Boston shortly after beating Cejudo.

    “I want to see the best of the best compete, no excuses. Now, enter O’Malley, he fights one ranked guy, gets a title shot, split decision albeit and this is not me hating, this is just calling a spade a spade. He’s supposed to fight me next which would give me enough time to prepare but instead, they say, ‘Oh Cejudo’s coming back, we want you to fight him.’ In the back of their mind, they’re like whoever wins this, we’re gonna turn them around for August.

    “So he knows all this, I’m pretty sure he knows all this and only O’Malley can disclose all this. Or at least, the UFC knew for sure that this is what they wanted to do. Give him the best opportunity that they could to become a world champion by hindering and stacking the deck against his opponent. It’s like the Jake Paul route. Stacking the deck so that you get these highlights or you get these favorable match ups and these wins to look as good as you do.”

    Read also: Sean O’Malley’s Coach Calls Merab Dvalishvili ‘Scary’ But Highlights Major Flaw In His Game: ‘Too Close To The Fight Now To Fix’

  • Aljamain Sterling Calls Out Dana White’s ‘Over The Top Reaction’ To Merab Dvalishvili Publicly Posting Training Cut

    Aljamain Sterling Calls Out Dana White’s ‘Over The Top Reaction’ To Merab Dvalishvili Publicly Posting Training Cut

    Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling doesn’t believe Dana White had an appropriate reaction to Merab Dvalishvili’s recent cut.

    Dvalishvili, who is set to challenge current 135-pound kingpin Sean O’Malley for the title in the main event of Noche UFC/UFC 306 at the Sphere next month, was scolded by White this week after he posted a video online showing a facial laceration.

    The Georgian uploaded a number of videos of the cut he suffered 25 days out from his first championship opportunity, raising slight concern in the community about his status for the September 14 card.

    “The Machine” has since clarified that nothing will prevent him from making the walk to do battle with “Sugar” in Las Vegas, but that doesn’t mean everyone thinks the decision to publicly display the cut was smart.

    Chief among them was the UFC CEO, who slammed Dvalishvili during the press conference following Tuesday’s episode of Dana White’s Contender Series.

    “The whole world knows about Merab’s cut. He posted it. Our guys are so dumb, it’s next-level unbelievable,” White said. “All the stuff I talk about boxing, what I will give boxing, is when something happens in a camp, man, let me tell you what, it does not leak. Our guys can’t f*cking wait to throw it up on social media.

    “It’s a small cut. It’s no big deal. But obviously, it needed to be posted,” White continued. “Why the f*ck would you want him to know that? It is next-level stupid. Some of these guys are so stupid it’s mind-boggling. It’s unbelievable.”

    Those comments, however, didn’t sit well with one of Dvalishvili’s closest friends and teammates, and somebody who’s had his own fair share of back and forth with White in the past…

    Sterling Defends Teammate Dvalishvili From White’s Wrath

    When it comes to rocky relationships between fighter and higher-ups, not many have had public disagreements with the likes of White quite like Sterling.

    The now-featherweight contender has taken issue with comments regarding his desire not to fight Dvalishvili while he was bantamweight champ, as well as what he saw as pressure to accept a quick turnaround to fight O’Malley last August.

    Suffice to say, “Funk Master” has never been one to shy away from speaking out against things said by the UFC CEO. And that trend continued this week, with Sterling leaping to the defense of Dvalishvili following White’s scathing reaction to the post detailing the Georgian’s laceration in training.

    “Everyone is making a much bigger deal over ‘the little cut’, even the boss. Merab shares his stories of training camp, the good, the bad, the ugly, and ppl LOVE him for it. There’s nothing ‘stupid’ about it, period,” Sterling wrote. “He’s training, and will show up Sept 14, like he always does. Is this about betting lines?? Is it about a fight cancelation?? Respectfully, this reaction was a bit over the top IMHO.”

    Dvalishvili has since shown his return to the training room on social media, as he gears up for the chance to bring O’Malley’s reign to an end and avenge his teammate’s knockout loss to the striking specialist in Boston last year.

  • Aljamain Sterling Explains Why Kai Kara-France’s Win Over Steve Erceg Was A Bad Stoppage

    Aljamain Sterling Explains Why Kai Kara-France’s Win Over Steve Erceg Was A Bad Stoppage

    Kai Kara-France made a real statement with his performance in the co-main event this past Saturday night in Perth.

    It was a battle of top flyweight contenders at UFC 305 and “Don’t Blink” showed why he still belongs in title contention following consecutive defeats.

    He was able to stop Perth’s own Steve Erceg in the opening round, after dropping him with a huge overhand shot that caught the former title challenger clean.

    Some follow-up strikes led to him earning a performance bonus for his third knockout or TKO win in the UFC’s 125-pound weight class.

    While it was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the night, a former champion did have a point to address after seeing the stoppage.

    Aljamain Sterling Says Steve Erceg Was Still Intelligently Defending Himself At The Time Of UFC 305 Stoppage

    In his post-UFC 305 breakdown on his YouTube channel, former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling discussed the stoppage in this fight.

    “Funk Master” has spoken before about his loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, where he believes the referee jumped in too early when he was still intelligently defending himself despite taking some follow-up strikes after being dropped.

    Sterling made the same case for Erceg in this fight after seeing how, in his opinion, “Astro Boy” was still in the fight even though his opponent was putting strikes together to get the finish.

    “Now, the stoppage was a little odd for me. Like yeah he was hurt beforehand but then he’s starting to recover. My only gripe with the stoppage is you see the guy turn and you see him cover and then you see him trying to get up, he gets hit once, like let him eat a couple because it’s not like it’s catching him clean on the chin right? That would be clear, you’re not intelligently defending yourself but if you at least are smart enough to put an arm up, it’s like, ‘Hey, this is better here. It might rattle my head a little bit but it’s better here than just taking clean shots to the dome.’

    “If you can be conscious enough to do that, I think the refs should pay attention to those scenarios. Yes, the whole sequence, I’m not a ref. I’m not a ref but from a fighter’s standpoint, we think about these things and I don’t even think Erceg even like really was protesting or anything but I’m sure he was still in the back of his mind like, ‘I don’t want to be that guy but I’m still kinda annoyed because I could have maybe fought through that and weathered the storm.’ Who knows, we would never know now.”

    Read also: Alex Pereira, Belal Muhammad, Aljamain Sterling & Other MMA Fighters React To Dricus Du Plessis Submitting Israel Adesanya At UFC 305

  • Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Peña, ‘Wonderboy’ vs. Joaquin Buckley, & Other Fights Announced For UFC 307

    Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Peña, ‘Wonderboy’ vs. Joaquin Buckley, & Other Fights Announced For UFC 307

    UFC 307 heralds the MMA promotion’s return to Salt Lake City, Utah, with a stacked fight card lined up for October 5 at the Delta Center.

    On Friday UFC CEO Dana White revealed that the 11th numbered event will be headlined by light heavyweight kingpin Alex Pereira, who will defend his title for the third time in 2024, this time against Khalil Rountree.

    In the co-main event of UFC 307, reigning women’s bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington puts her title on the line against former 135-pound queen Julianna Peña.

    Pennington is set to make her first title defense since capturing the belt by unanimous decision against Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 in January. The title was vacant at the time, following Amanda Nunes’ retirement.

    Meanwhile, Peña is making her long-awaited return to the Octagon after an extended hiatus of over two years. She famously pulled off a major upset with a second-round submission victory over “The Lioness” at UFC 269, only to fall short in their rematch seven months later at UFC 277, losing by unanimous decision.

    The undercard of this pay-per-view spectacle will feature an intriguing welterweight showdown between the seasoned Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and the surging Joaquin Buckley. Thompson last competed at UFC 296, where he suffered a second-round submission loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov. On the other hand, “New Mansa” is riding a wave of momentum with a four-fight win streak since dropping down to 170 pounds. His most recent victory came by decision against Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Fight Night St. Louis this past May.

    What Other Fights Are On The UFC 307 Card?

    The UFC 307 fight card is packed with exciting matchups, including the return of former featherweight champion José Aldo, who is set to take on the rapidly rising Mario Bautista in a bantamweight showdown. Another highlight of the night will be the clash between two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka Kayla Harrison and Ketlen Vieira in a pivotal 135-pound bout.

    Elsewhere on the card, Kevin Holland is slated to face Roman Dolidze in an intense middleweight showdown. Announced earlier this year, meanwhile, was a clash between undefeated featherweight Movsar Evloev and former bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling.

    With these additions to the card, the current fights expected to take place at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City on Oct. 5 are as follows:

    • Alex Pereira (C) vs. Khalil Rountree (light heavyweight championship main event)
    • Raquel Pennington (C) vs. Julianna Peña (women’s bantamweight championship co-main event)
    • Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling (bantamweight)
    • Stephen Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley (welterweight)
    • Ketlen Vieira vs. Kayla Harrison (women’s bantamweight)
    • JosĂ© Aldo vs. Mario Bautista (bantamweight)
    • Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington (women’s strawweight)
    • Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland (middleweight)
    • Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo (women’s strawweight)
    • Ihor Potieria vs. Cesar Almeida (middleweight)
  • UFC Featherweight Youssef Zalal Feels Aljamain Sterling’s Jiu-Jitsu Edge Decisive In Movsar Evloev Fight: ‘When The Russian Fought Diego Lopes
’ (Exclusive)

    UFC Featherweight Youssef Zalal Feels Aljamain Sterling’s Jiu-Jitsu Edge Decisive In Movsar Evloev Fight: ‘When The Russian Fought Diego Lopes
’ (Exclusive)

    A huge featherweight clash is set for UFC 307 on October 5, as former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling looks to hand Movsar Evloev his first loss.

    Evloev has been a force of nature since arriving in the Octagon and whilst he hasn’t had the finishes to really gather hype around his winning streak, his record speaks for itself.

    Sterling has also not always received tons of praise for his fighting style but his high-level grappling combined with awkward striking, makes him a very tough test for his Russian opponent.

    A fellow 145-pound contender on the UFC roster is excited to see how the two men match up with one another once the Octagon door closes.

    Youssef Zalal Breaks Down Aljamain Sterling Vs Movsar Evloev At UFC 307

    Youssef Zalal will look to secure back-to-back victories during his second stint in the UFC when he returns to face Jarno Errens on August 10.

    In a recent interview with MMA News, the Moroccan fighter broke down how he sees the match-up of top contenders and grapplers going down in Salt Lake City.

    Zalal made reference to how a clash of two grappling specialists often turns into a striking match between them as they cancel one another out on the floor.

    He also provided the theory that based on what he has seen from both, this could be a wrestling versus jiu-jitsu affair.

    “Those guys, I think it’s either gonna see a striking match the whole time and I think you’re gonna see one either wrestling and the other one jiu-jitsu. I feel like when the Russian fought Diego Lopes, you could see the jiu-jitsu kind of felt a little bit [off] right. I mean Diego Lopes’ jiu-jitsu is pretty good too so that’s why that, and I think Aljamain is a really good grappler obviously.

    “so I think you’re going to see a little battle on that part or it’s going to be a full-on striking match whenever you put two grapplers together so I’m pretty interested to see how the match-ups and the styles go on that part.”

    Read also: Dan Ige Has Return After Same-Day Notice Diego Lopes Scrap In The Works For Abu Dhabi-Held UFC 308

  • MMA News Today: Tom Aspinall Comes Clean On Fake Pre-Fight Routine, Aljamain Sterling Wins Karate Combat Debut In The Final Seconds, & More

    MMA News Today: Tom Aspinall Comes Clean On Fake Pre-Fight Routine, Aljamain Sterling Wins Karate Combat Debut In The Final Seconds, & More

    Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For July 26, 2024, we’re taking a look at:

    • Aspinall finally puts the petrol rumors to rest
    • Sterling got his hand raised after clutching the match in the final seconds
    • Holloway gives massive praise to UFC 304 fighter

    Tom Aspinall Finally Admits That Strange Pre-Fight Preparations Was A Joke

    Ahead of his interim heavyweight title defense at UFC 304, Tom Aspinall revealed a unique pre-fight process that he was putting himself through in preparation.

    The Brit told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that he was following the methods of classic bare knuckle boxers by shadow boxing around haybales and dipping his hands in petrol each night.

    Some instantly called it out that Aspinall was in fact trying to trick Helwani but after he didn’t crack a smile at any point, others thought the champion might be telling the truth.

    A video posted on fight week shows one half of this weekend’s co-main event calling Helwani in the middle of the night to provide evidence of his preparations.

    After leading him on for a bit longer, Aspinall confessed that it was all a joke and that he’s having to tell the truth after people thought he was being serious about it.

    Aljamain Sterling Pulls Off A Clutch Win In Karate Combat Grappling Debut

    Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling made his Karate Combat debut on July 25, where he got his hand raised in the final seconds of the contest.

    Competing in the Pit Submission Series, he secured the win over Jay Jay Wilson at Karate Combat 48 in Nashville.

    The contest was nearly about to end in a points draw but with the clock ticking down to the final seconds, Sterling was able to pass guard and take his opponent’s back to score the winning point in the dying moments.

    After the match, a fired-up Sterling said that his full focus is now on handing Movsar Evloev his first loss in a crucial featherweight match-up at UFC 307 in October.

    Also of note for this grappling match is that Sterling weighed in at a staggering 171-pounds.

    Sterling even received praise from his former opponent and the current UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley who phoned in during the match.

    Max Holloway Praises The Fight IQ Of UFC 304 Fighter: ‘Super High, Super Smart’

    Max Holloway believes that the main event of UFC 304 will be a battle between two tacticians that rarely stray from their gameplans.

    Both the welterweight champion Leon Edwards and his challenger Belal Muhammad aren’t known for going out there and being involved in wars.

    With a fight like this, it will come down to which man is able to implement their approach the best and with that in mind, Holloway is backing the champ to retain in Manchester.

    He broke down the card during a recent YouTube video where “Blessed” spoke extremely high of Edwards’s ability to read and control a fight.

    “Belal is a tactician. he’s a gameplanner. He does not stray away from his gameplan,” Holloway said. “But so does Leon, bro. Leon is a tactician. He’s a gameplanner. He sticks to his gameplan no matter what. 
 A lot of people were counting Leon out (ahead of the Covington fight) like he was gonna get grappled.

    “Leon is one of the very few IQs in this game that I respect, man,” Holloway continued. “His fight IQ is super high, super smart. It’s just hard to go against the champ here, bro. I think Belal puts on a fight. Early in the fight, I think it’s a tough fight. But then when we get to the third and then the championship rounds, I think Leon is gonna take over.”

    Read more on the story here.

    For more MMA news, check out:

  • Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling Set For UFC 307 On October 5

    Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling Set For UFC 307 On October 5

    Top UFC featherweights Movsar Evloev and Aljamain Sterling will look to stake their claim for a first title shot in the division when they share the cage later this year.

    The undefeated Russian and the former UFC bantamweight champion have been going back and forth on social media about doing battle ever since the latter successfully debuted in the weight class this past April.

    A victory over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 saw Sterling enter the rankings at #8, and “Funk Master” will now have the chance to crack the featherweight top five at the expense of Evloev.

    As first reported by MMA Propagande and subsequently confirmed by both men on social media, Evloev and Sterling are slated to collide on the UFC 307 pay-per-view card on October 5.

    A location and venue is yet to be officially announced by the promotion, but the expectation is for UFC 307 to take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

    Evloev, Sterling To Vie For Shot At Topuria’s Gold At UFC 307

    When they finally meet in the Octagon after months of online discussion regarding a date and ducking allegations, both Evloev and Sterling will hope to continue their winning form all the way to the top.

    Evloev (18-0) further climbed the 145-pound pecking order this year by narrowly getting the better of Arnold Allen on the scorecards at UFC 297 in Canada this past January. The result marked the former M-1 Global bantamweight champ’s eighth straight victory on MMA’s biggest stage, following triumphs over Dan Ige and Diego Lopes.

    The Russian, however, has come under fire for his tendency to go the distance inside the Octagon, having yet to find a finish in the UFC since his debut back in 2019. He’ll look to rectify that unwanted statistic at the expense of the division’s newest contender.

    Sterling (24-4) brought his time making a difficult weight cut down to 135 pounds to an end following his title loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 in Boston last August. With his calls for an immediate rematch falling on deaf ears, “Funk Master” committed to the pursuit of gold in a second weight class, which he began successfully by outgrappling Kattar at April’s milestone PPV.

    The 34-year-old must now get past Evloev if he’s to put himself in position for a future shot at Topuria’s featherweight title.

    Aljamain Sterling
    Image: UFC.com
  • Diego Lopes Dismisses Aljamain Sterling, Movsar Evloev Fights For UFC 306 At The Sphere: ‘Makes No Sense’

    Diego Lopes Dismisses Aljamain Sterling, Movsar Evloev Fights For UFC 306 At The Sphere: ‘Makes No Sense’

    UFC featherweight contender Diego Lopes will seemingly take nothing but a top five opponent for his planned appearance at the Sphere this fall — excluding Movsar Evloev.

    Lopes is a few weeks on from his latest success on mixed martial arts’ stage. The Mexico-based Brazilian had his hand raised in the UFC 303 co-main event, ending what had been a tumultuous International Fight Week for him with a fourth straight win.

    After original opponent Brian Ortega withdrew on the day having already forced a change in weight on the Friday, Lopes was left sharing the Octagon with Dan Ige on just hours’ notice.

    The 29-year-old outpointed “50K” and was rewarded with a boost to #12 in the featherweight rankings. Next up, Lopes is looking to break into the top 10, but he won’t be wilfully accepting anyone above him in the pecking order…

    Lopes Not Interested In First-Time Sterling Fight Or Evloev Rematch

    During a recent interview with Canal Encarada, Lopes looked back on his victory on June 29 and addressed what he hopes will come on the heels of it.

    In the aftermath of UFC 303, Lopes called for a spot on the upcoming Noche UFC card at the Sphere on September 14. He’s since been called out for that date by two top 10 contenders in former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and ex-opponent Movsar Evloev.

    But having been scheduled to do battle with higher-ranked featherweight in Brian Ortega, Lopes has little interest squaring off against Sterling or Evleov, and that’s in spite of the Russian sitting inside the top five.

    “It doesn’t make sense now,” Lopes said when asked about possibly facing Sterling next (h/t MMA Fighting). “We were going to fight the number three in the world, then we fought the number 13 and went up two positions. The UFC has basically guaranteed me a fight with a top-five (opponent) now, so Aljamain Sterling makes no sense, and neither does a rematch with Movsar.

    “They know I’m in a good spot right now, They know I was going to fight the number three in the world and I’m kicking down the door for a title fight, so they want the buzz for themselves,” Lopes continued. “It makes no sense for them to call me out since they’re ranked higher than me. It makes no sense, but they know I’m generating a lot (of buzz) with fans and the UFC.”

    Lopes has instead called for a rearranged bout against Ortega or a Sphere meeting with ex-featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski.

    Sterling, meanwhile, acknowledged the Brazilian’s stance and readjusted his sights to Evloev, reiterating his willingness to face the unbeaten Russian at a September event.

  • MMA News Today: Chael Sonnen Sticks Up For Jon Jones On Misdemeanor Charges, Aljamain Sterling To Make Karate Combat Debut On July 25, & More

    MMA News Today: Chael Sonnen Sticks Up For Jon Jones On Misdemeanor Charges, Aljamain Sterling To Make Karate Combat Debut On July 25, & More

    Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For July 16, 2024, we’re taking a look at:

    • Sonnen believes Jones’ misdemeanor charges could be less serious than they appear to be
    • Sterling books grappling match on Karate Combat
    • Romero announces plans for his next fight

    Chael Sonnen Questions Whether Jon Jones’ Case Has Been Over Exaggerated

    Jon Jones is dealing with another controversial police charge following an interaction at his house with a drug-testing agent.

    The UFC heavyweight champion has been charged with two misdemeanors where, if proven guilty, he could face fines or even jail time.

    His former rival, Chael Sonnen, has some issues with the way that this process has been carried out following the initial reports from April.

    During a recent YouTube video on his channel, Sonnen questioned both why the decision has taken so long based on the evidence they have and whether the case has been exaggerated with the misdemeanor charges.

    “The agents came and did what they did but there is a significant difference guys, in being a jerk and being a criminal. There’s a significant difference in being rude and committing a crime and it’s annoying for me to have to read this about Jon and read that he’s got to deal with this. It’s annoying for me even if not the municipality that I live in…

    “it’s annoying to me that on a double hit misdemeanor where there are not witnesses because – there’s a witness there but they’re not supporting the claim. There isn’t video cameras of everything but there is video surveillance and it doesn’t support the claim. It seems like a tough one and it still took those guys four, five, six [months], however long this is to make a decision even in this case.”

    Aljamain Sterling Set To Compete on Karate Combat’s Pit Submission Series On July 25

    Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is set to make his Karate Combat debut on the Pit Submission Series.

    The striking-focused promotion recently started opening up their events with several grappling bouts to kick off the show.

    Sterling is set to compete on July 25 in Nashville at Karate Combat 48, where he faces Jay Jay Wilson.

    “Funkmaster” has competed in several grappling matches in recent times with this being his first since he made his successful move up to featherweight with a win over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300.

    The event is set to be headlined by the heavyweight title rematch between Sam Alvey and AntĂŽnio Arroyo.

    https://twitter.com/KarateCombat/status/1813033307564875936

    Yoel Romero Says He’s Fighting Corey Anderson For The Bellator Light Heavyweight Title On October 19

    Despite rumours of him making the jump to BKFC, former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero appears to be gearing up for his Bellator return.

    “Soldier of God” has been inactive since his decision win over Thiago Santos in February at PFL vs Bellator and according to him, he’s now set up for a title shot.

    Romero recently spoke in an interview on the Overdogs Espanol podcast where he claimed that he will be fighting Corey Anderson for the light heavyweight title on October 19 in Saudi Arabia.

    The Bellator Champions Series is currently set to host events in Chicago on October 12 and Paris on November 16. While there is no event announced as of yet for Saudi Arabia, the PFL is expected to stage another pay-per-view in Riyadh this fall, with names like Francis Ngannou and Cris Cyborg expected to take part.

    Perhaps Romero has leaked the date for that major show…

    For more MMA news, check out:

  • Aljamain Sterling Moves On From Movsar Evloev Matchup, Targets Different Ranked Featherweight For The Sphere

    Aljamain Sterling Moves On From Movsar Evloev Matchup, Targets Different Ranked Featherweight For The Sphere

    Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has appeared to lose patience with the undefeated Movsar Evloev.

    Sterling announced his arrival in the featherweight division with a successful divisional debut at UFC 300 this past March. “Funk Master” utilized his grappling to limit all of Calvin Kattar’s offense en route to the scorecards.

    Since then, much of the discussion regarding Sterling’s sophomore outing at 145 pounds has involved Evloev, who sits three places above the ex-bantamweight at #5 in the rankings.

    While the pair expressed mutual interest in the fight, they’ve since been at odds over its apparent delay, with both throwing blame at one another.

    Evidently, Sterling has now had enough of that back and forth…

    Sterling Adjusts Sights From Evloev To Lopes

    During a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sterling provided an update on his future plans, as he looks to climb toward the gold at 145 pounds in pursuit of two-division glory.

    With a lengthy period of discourse with Evloev not resulting in an official booking, “Funk Master” expressed frustration at the Russian’s ongoing “excuses.”

    And with that, he has a fresh name in mind for his desired appearance at the Sphere for Noche UFC this fall.

    “Stay tuned. Hopefully we’ll have some fight news for you guys. I’m thinking about Aljamain Sterling vs. Diego Lopes as the Sphere,” Sterling said. “That has a nice ring to it.

    “Movsar, I don’t know what the hell he’s doing. I gave him a date, he hasn’t accepted yet. He started making all these excuses,” Sterling continued. “Either you want to fight on my terms or I’ll go fight somebody else. So, Diego Lopes, if you oblige, let’s make it happen at the Sphere, September 14.”

    Interestingly, Evloev’s different take on why the long-discussed fight with Sterling isn’t coming to fruition has also led him to the doorstep of Lopes and a potential rematch.

    Lopes is one of the fastest-rising names in the division, having followed a competitive short-notice debut against Evloev last May with four straight wins, the first three of which came in the opening round.

    Most recently, the Mexico-based Brazilian defeated Dan Ige in a UFC 303 matchup that came about on just hours’ notice following the extremely late withdrawal of Brian Ortega.

    While Lopes remains outside the top 10 and four places below Sterling in the featherweight pecking order, “Funk Master” seemingly wants to capitalize on the hype around the 29-year-old’s name on a major platform this September.

  • Aljamain Sterling Makes Henry Cejudo Comparison To Back Up Dana White’s Contention That Jon Jones Is P4P #1 Over Islam Makhachev

    Following Islam Makhachev’s lightweight title defense against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302, UFC President Dana White had some thoughts on the current pound-for-pound debate.

    Currently, the top spot on the list is occupied by the 155-pound champion who sits one place above the consensus greatest of all time, Jon Jones.

    White firmly believes that the answer is “Bones” but others have questioned whether his recent activity should factor into the equation.

    Of course, it is a hypothetical argument to be having as the entire list is based around if every fighter was the same weight, who would be the best.

    Makhachev certainly has the edge when you look at his current strength of schedule and recent performances but it is impossible to look past Jones when you take overall careers into account.

    Aljamain Sterling Backs Up Dana White’s Comments With Henry Cejudo Example

    When he decided to vacate the light heavyweight title and move up to heavyweight, it was three years before fans saw Jones compete again.

    His injury ahead of UFC 295 last November hasn’t helped the questions about his activity either.

    Aljamain Sterling, however, said on his YouTube channel that he backs White’s argument because of Jones’ last fight.

    The former light heavyweight king took three years off, came back and made it look easy when he submitted Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in just over two minutes.

    Sterling used the example of Henry Cejudo to demonstrate his point, stating how “Triple C” attempted to come back and was unsuccessful in his title challenge at UFC 288 – which shows why the significance of the Gane victory can’t be overlooked.

    “I was about to say, three years off and to come back and do that to the number one guy like Dana said, I actually really agree with that.  

    “Jon Jones, what he did, is super impressive. Henry Cejudo came back, he tried to do what he tried to do and look what happened. He’s ‘the greatest combat athlete of all time’, no disrespect to him but…” 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjIQkObyITU

  • Marlon Vera Says Aljamain Sterling Fight Is “Easy” On Paper For Petr Yan

    UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Vera has given a prediction for his division’s upcoming unification title showdown, set for UFC 273 next month.

    At the April 9 pay-per-view, reigning champion Aljamain Sterling and interim titleholder Petr Yan will look to finally settle their bitter rivalry over a year after it ignited.

    The pair first collided at UFC 259 in March 2021. While Yan, the then-champ, was expected to extend his reign and was well on his way to doing so after three rounds, a fourth-frame disqualification crowned a new 135-pound king inside Las Vegas’ APEX.

    After surgery kept him out and forced a withdrawal from his scheduled defense at UFC 267 opposite “No Mercy,” Sterling has been on the sidelines with the belt for 12 months. At UFC 273, he’ll be hoping to finally legitimize his reign by adding another blemish to the Russian’s record.

    While some, including the #12-ranked Sean O’Malley, expect Sterling to arrive to the cage with an improved game plan from last time out, “Chito” Vera, the current #8 man in the division, doesn’t have high hopes for “Funk Master.”

    Vera Expects To Hear ‘And New!’

    During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, the Ecuadorian gave his assessment of the April 9 bantamweight championship rematch. While he gives Sterling the kind of puncher’s chance that always exists in a sport with as many disciplines as MMA, he ultimately said it should be an “easy” win on paper for Yan.

    “That fight, on paper, it’s pretty easy (for) Yan. He just has way better striking,” said Vera. “But that’s the thing with MMA. Sometimes you don’t need to be Israel Adesanya to win a fight. MMA, the speed is different, the range is different. You fucking throw three hooks in a row and oops, you won. It’s not a sport like boxing or kickboxing, (where) most guys are like, perfect technique.

    “You see a guy who comes from jiu-jitsu not give two fucks and just start swinging from the fences, it’s hard to read those punches” Vera continued. “That’s why you gotta spread across a little bit of everything. But, you know, everybody can punch in MMA. And there’s so many things you can do; clinch, fight on the fence. On paper, I do believe Yan kicks his ass. Because Sterling gets tired every time he’s not able to get a hold of you. He gets tired quick; he gets anxious. Yan is pretty calm in there.”

    Given his own form in the 135-pound weight class, Vera will certainly be keeping a close eye on proceedings come UFC 273 fight night. Having secured a second consecutive win by brutally knocking out Frankie Edgar last November, “Chito” is set for his first chance to enter the main event spotlight.

    A few weeks after Yan vs. Sterling 2, Vera will headline a UFC Fight Night opposite top-five contender Rob Font. With a victory, the 29-year-old will likely move to within just one triumph of a meeting inside the Octagon with the bantamweight kingpin.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca8eSMHLvrH/

    Do you agree with Marlon Vera? Is the UFC 273 co-main event “easy” to predict on paper?

  • Aljamain Sterling Tells Yan To Accept Loss Like A Man, Petr Yan Fires Back

    UFC bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling and former champ Petr Yan are back at it again on social media ahead of their rematch.

    Sterling and Yan will finally meet in their highly-anticipated bantamweight title rematch at UFC 273. This comes nearly a year to the day of their first matchup when Sterling earned the belt via disqualification after Yan landed an illegal knee late in the fight.

    In a recent tweet, Sterling roasted Yan for how he’s handled the loss in their first fight last year.

    “In order to grow you need to accept your losses like a man,” Sterling said. “The first step in the process of healing is accepting your short-comings. In other words, bro, you lost!”

    If recent history was any indicator, it didn’t take Yan long to respond to Sterling’s banter. He responded by attacking how Sterling handled his controversial win over him at UFC 259.

    https://twitter.com/PetrYanUFC/status/1504077148898066434?s=20&t=3G5rx8AwLV5ZYSZPM8sRmQ

    “At least I didn’t (lose) my dignity like you,” Yan replied. “I can envision yourself crying after our next fight again. I will beat the living shit out of you dog. Looking forward to your healing process.”

    While Yan fired back in a big way, it was Sterling that would get the final word for now, making a play on words on Yan’s first name.

    “The only tears I’ll be shedding are for your funeral, after I body bag you April 9th for the world to see,” Sterling responded. “You “Betr” show up!”

    The rematch between Sterling and Yan was supposed to take place on multiple occasions in 2021, but the fight was moved due to various circumstances. Sterling has been battling injuries over the last few months and appears fully recovered and ready for his rematch with Yan.

    After Sterling pulled out of their originally scheduled bout at UFC 267, Yan would fight and defeat Cory Sandhagen for the interim bantamweight title. Before his controversial loss to Sterling, Yan earned the then-vacant title over José Aldo at UFC 251.

    We are just weeks away from the Sterling/Yan rematch and fans can expect plenty of banter back-and-forth between these two top 135-pounders.

    What is your prediction for Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2?

  • Petr Yan Trolls Aljamain Sterling Without Mercy With Edited Fight Poster

    UFC interim bantamweight champion Petr Yan is ramping up the mental warfare ahead of his rematch with official titleholder Aljamain Sterling.

    Yan and Sterling will unify the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 273 in Jacksonville, FL, nearly a year after the two top bantamweights squared off at UFC 259. Sterling won the bout via disqualification following an illegal knee from Yan in the fourth round.

    Tensions have continued to build between Sterling and Yan ahead of their highly-anticipated rematch. They were supposed to fight back at UFC 267, but Sterling pulled out with a lingering injury on short notice. Yan would go on to beat Cory Sandhagen for the interim title.

    In a recent tweet, Yan had a bit of fun at Sterling’s expense and showed that there’s still no love lost between the two 135 pounders.

    Check out Yan’s edited fight poster below.

    After seeing Yan’s tweet just hours later, Sterling issued a response of his own.

    “Bro, you lost!” Sterling tweeted.

    Sterling has yet to defend his bantamweight title since earning the belt controversially in his first matchup with Yan. The two fighters have accused each other of delaying the rematch and have gone back and forth on numerous occasions on social media.

    Despite Sterling being the current bantamweight titleholder, it’s Yan who holds a spot in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. Sterling will look to rewrite the script at UFC 273.

    What is your prediction for Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2?

  • Archives: Aljamain Sterling Wins BW Title After Petr Yan Gets DQ’d (2021)

    Yes, it’s been one year to the day since Aljamain Sterling won the UFC bantamweight championship in what was the most controversial UFC title win of all time. Next month, the two will finally have a rematch at UFC 273 to settle this unfinished business. Until then, you can check out our coverage of the “knee heard round the world” immediately after it happened in the article below.

    The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

    On This Day in MMA History…

    [ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 6, 2021, 11:08 PM CT]

    Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling didn’t disappoint. 

    The two fighters met in a bantamweight title bout on Saturday night (March 6, 2021) at the UFC 259 event from Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility.

    The first round saw Sterling come out aggressive and even caught him with a flying knee strike. This apparently woke up Yan, who scored a few takedowns and even knocked him down with a right hand. Sterling appeared to be rushing his movement as he was tripping and slipping. It was a wild pace early as Sterling was constantly in his face.

    Sterling started to slow down in the third round as Yan continued to take over. Yan shut down Sterling’s clinch and takedown attempts but gave him solid competition on the feet if not out striking. Yan started to pick him apart with his sniper-like strikes in the fourth round. Sterling had one knee down and Yan landed a huge knee strike to the face of Sterling. The referee told Yan that Sterling was down before the strike was thrown. Thus, Sterling couldn’t continue, the referee called it a DQ and Sterling won the fight as well as the belt. 

    Peep the highlights of the fight courtesy of the UFC’s official Twitter account:

    Sterling entered this fight on a five-fight winning streak and won his last seven out of eight bouts. The winning streak, including decision wins over the likes of Brett Johns, Jimmie Rivera, and Pedro Munoz while he tapped out Cody Stamann, and choked out Cory Sandhagen at the UFC 250 pay-per-view event.

    Yan won the vacant bantamweight title when he scored a TKO win over Jose Aldo at the UFC 251 pay-per-view event. Yan entered this fight on a 9-fight winning streak with his previous three fights seeing him beat Urijah Faber by KO at the UFC 245 pay-per-view event, John Dodson by decision at the UFC on ESPN+ 3 from the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic and Jimmie Rivera at the UFC 238 pay-per-view event from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on June 8, 2019.

    UFC 259 Results: Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya, Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson, Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling

    MMA News is providing ongoing coverage of UFC 259. We’ve got you covered with live results, video highlights, and post-fight tidbits.

  • Sterling Says He’ll Be “So Petty” If He Beats Yan In The Rematch

    The UFC bantamweight champion has once again taken aim at his detractors. 

    Aljamain Sterling has had a rough 2021. After becoming the first champion to win the belt via disqualification, Sterling became the target of MMA fans. Petr Yan landed an illegal knee in their title bout, and Sterling was unable to continue. Yet, fans were quick to point out that they felt Sterling overreacted to the blow. 

    While dealing with the blowback, Sterling was forced out of their rematch because of lingering issues from neck surgery. The withdrawal fueled the vitriol hurled at “The Funkmaster.” 

    If you’ve been following Yan and Sterling on social media, it’s no secret they don’t like each other. The fighters have gone back and forth on social media and memes disparaging Sterling are aplenty around the web. All this seems to feed Sterling.

    Prior to the fight being rebooked for UFC 273 in April, Sterling went on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour to explain one of the incentives to beating Yan in the rematch: rubbing it in others’ faces. 

    “So it’d be nice to make some money. And I can’t wait to do it and shove it up everyone’s asses and have them just—I’m gonna be so petty, man. I try to be humble about my wins. I always talk shit before the fights with all my opponents, but I always be humble about the wins. But this one, there’s just something different where I feel like it’s deserved.

    Aljamain Sterling Put Everything Together At The Right Time
    Aljamain Sterling, Image Credit: UFC.com

    “And either way. Knock on wood, if things don’t go my way and he decides to do the same thing, that’s fine. I’ll eat it. I’ll eat it. I’m a man of my word, I back up my words, and I have no problem eating shit if I lose. But at the same time, I really do in my heart feel like I’m better than this guy and I can’t wait to have everyone just suck it.”

    When Sterling pulled out of the rematch at UFC 267, Cory Sandhagen stepped up to fight the Russian destroyer. Sandhagen and Yan put on an entertaining display of technical mastery that ended with the interim belt around Yan’s waist.

    Sterling has been absent from the Octagon since winning the title back in March. That will change when he steps into the Octagon to finally settle the score with Petr Yan in April.

    How do you think the Yan/Sterling rematch goes down?

  • O’Malley Expects “Smart” Sterling To Have A Better Plan In Yan Rematch

    Rising UFC bantamweight star Sean O’Malley has given his take on the upcoming unification showdown between champion Aljamain Sterling and interim titleholder Petr Yan.

    Since their controversial clash at UFC 259 last March, which saw Sterling crowned champion via disqualification, a rematch between “Funk Master” and Yan has been inevitable.

    While it may have been initially delayed after Sterling underwent neck surgery and later pulled off the UFC 267 card last October, we finally appear set to see the two rivals settle their score inside the Octagon.

    After Alexander Volkanovski’s next defense was moved from UFC 272 to UFC 273, the upcoming bantamweight title fight went with it. Yan and Sterling will now throw down for all the marbles on April 9.

    O’Malley Believes Sterling Has The Skills To Beat Yan

    Given the fact Yan appeared to be on his way to a comfortable victory in their first clash and has since had interim gold wrapped around his waist following an impeccable performance against Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi, it’s unsurprising that “No Mercy” is being considered the favorite ahead of the rematch.

    But while the Russian is in hot form and is yet to be beaten in the UFC outside of his DQ setback, one ranked 135lber is warning against counting Sterling out.

    During an appearance on Michael Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast earlier this month, O’Malley insisted Sterling is too “smart” to make the same mistakes and follow the same game plan he brought into UFC 259 last year. While “Sugar” doesn’t necessarily believe “Funk Master” will beat Yan, he does believe the champ has the tools to do it.

    “I do-ish (see the rematch going down the same way). But I also think Aljamain is smart. He’s not a stupid guy. He’s very, very high level, his rĂ©sumĂ© speaks for itself,” O’Malley said. “I think he went in with the wrong game plan (at UFC 259). He went in and gassed out in a couple rounds. If you watch Petr’s fights, you know he’s gonna cruise for a little bit, try to figure you out, and then start putting on the pressure in the later rounds. He does that every fight.

    “Aljamain Sterling’s gotta see that, gotta recognize that, and come in with a different game plan,” added O’Malley. “I think Aljamain has skills, and he has the skills; he could beat Petr. I don’t necessarily see it happening, but I’m not counting him out. He’s a top, top bantamweight for a reason, and I think it’s gonna be a very interesting fight.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CYLfci5rx4x/

    While his status as champion has been disputed and looked down upon by some, Sterling’s ability can’t be denied, as was proven during his run before facing Yan. His five straight victories prior to UFC 259 included triumphs against Sandhagen, Pedro Munhoz, Jimmie Rivera, and Cody Stamann.

    While Yan will be looking to regain the undisputed belt he doesn’t believe he rightfully lost, Sterling will be hoping to prove many in the MMA community wrong at UFC 273 and legitimize his place on the bantamweight mountaintop.

    Who do you think will leave UFC 273 as the undisputed bantamweight king, Aljamain Sterling or Petr Yan?

  • TJ Dillashaw Claims Aljamain Sterling ‘Doesn’t Have That Fighting Spirit’

    TJ Dillashaw doesn’t have high expectations for Aljamain Sterling.

    TJ Dillashaw is currently out recovering from surgery. He is, however, planning his return and in doing so wants a shot at the title. Dillashaw has only had one fight in the last three years due to a suspension and injury, but he feels his résumé speaks for itself and he wants the next available title shot.

    The thing is, there is already a title fight scheduled. Finally, after a few rescheduled dates, champion Aljamain Sterling will be taking on interim champions Petr Yan at UFC 273 in April. Dillashaw took a moment to break down how he sees that fight playing out in a conversation with ESPN.

    “My money’s on Yan,” Dillashaw said (via MiddleEasy). “The way that fight went down and to kind of see Aljamain just break and give up
 he really didn’t have much for him. I was kind of expecting Sterling to give him a lot more trouble in the grappling aspects and the takedowns. Yan just kind of shrugged them off. [Sterling] had no strength. I don’t know if there’s much, you can change with that.”

    The way the fight between Sterling and Yan ended, with a disqualification knee to a downed opponent, left a lot of questions unanswered. Sterling will have another opportunity to show the world that he is the rightful owner of that 135-pound belt. It is clear that Dillashaw believes that Yan is the one to beat in that matchup.

    “Yan’s a killer. You see the way he fights, he stays real tight, stays clean, and he’s got the mentality that he’s a fighter,” Dillashaw said. “You got those competitors, you got athletes, and then you got fighters. Guys like myself and guys like Yan are the full package, you do all of them.”

    Sterling has been taking quite a bit of heat from all sides since he won the belt in the way he did back in March. Dillashaw might have his chance at Sterling if “The Funk Master” is victorious at UFC 273. If that fight takes place, Dillashaw believes he has what it takes to defeat him.

    “I feel like Sterling is more of a competitor or an athlete. He doesn’t have that fighting spirit in him. He’s a little bit weak when it comes to that last thing.”

    Who do you think will bring him the belt at UFC 273, Sterling or Yan?

  • Sterling: The UFC Didn’t Give Me The Same Opportunities As O’Malley Coming Up

    Aljamain Sterling is throwing some shade at Sean O’Malley.

    Aljamain Sterling is the bantamweight champion. He is the man all the other bantamweights need to beat if they want to be on top. There is, however, one man who is getting under the skin of the champ, and that man is Sean O’Malley.

    Sean O’Malley likes to trash talk. He has begun calling out several different fighters and creating some conflict with many in the division. And recently, he has gained the attention of the champion as well.

    Aljamain Sterling is looking at O’Malley as more of an inconvenience at this time than an immediate threat. O’Malley is now in the top 15 of the bantamweight rankings for the first time but has only faced one ranked opponent. That ranked opponent was Chito Vera, and O’Malley did not win that fight. Sterling believes O’Malley wasted that opportunity of fighting Vera when it came around and has since continued fighting handpicked opponents that he never got the chance to face on his way up.

    “You had your shot; you blew it,” Sterling told The MMA Hour. “We all get our opportunities. You had an opportunity, and you blew it. So if you wanna say Paiva is the guy that should give everyone more hype around him again, I don’t know, man. The UFC didn’t give me those opportunities to fight tailor-made matchups when I came up. My third UFC fight, I fought a guy who was ranked sixth in the world, Takeya Mizugaki. And ever since then, I have not left the UFC’s top 10 of ranked contenders and guys that were within the top 10 and top 5.”

    Sterling has had 15 fights in the UFC so far in his career and had 11 wins before he was granted a title shot, and he seized that moment. Although the fight with Petr Yan ended in a DQ for Yan, causing Sterling to walk away with the belt, Sterling is now champion nonetheless. Even as champion though, Sterling is not on the same level of fan favoritism as O’Malley is.

    O’Malley has had eight fights in the UFC with only one loss. He is a character outside the cage and puts on a show inside the cage. O’Malley has been criticized for not fighting ranked opponents on his rise up, but now that he sits at number 12, that should all be changing. If Sterling is unhappy with his fast start in the division, he should be happy now that he is the champ and will have the chance to create his own path going forward, starting with a rematch with Yan later this year.

    Do you think Sterling was rushed along his path faster than O’Malley is?

  • O’Malley Understands Why Sterling Took Offense To PPV Comments

    Sean O’Malley understands why he recently came under fire from Aljamain Sterling for comments he made about the UFC bantamweight champion’s rematch with Petr Yan not being a main event.

    Sterling and Yan were initially set to run it back at UFC 272 in March. But when Max Holloway withdrew from his scheduled trilogy clash with Alexander Volkanovski and the Australian’s next featherweight title defense was pushed back to UFC 273 in April, the bantamweight unification fight went with it.

    Responding to news of the re-arranged schedule on a podcast episode, O’Malley said it was surprising that the two titleholders in arguably the most stacked division in the promotion aren’t seen as headline-worthy, a comment that didn’t sit well with the reigning champion.

    Sterling was quick to fire back, throwing O’Malley’s ‘not big enough’ claim right back at him. “Funk Master” suggested “Sugar” should fight some top opponents before opening his mouth.

    O’Malley Sympathizes With Sterling’s Frustrations

    During the latest episode of the YouTube podcast he hosts alongside his brother, O’Malley briefly addressed Sterling’s reaction to his remarks.

    The Montana native said he understands why the champ took offense to his words, especially given the way his champion status has been discredited because of the way he won the belt last March.

    “When I said I’m surprised that Petr and Aljo can’t main event (on) their own, I was saying that like, I’m genuinely surprised the UFC doesn’t just have them (headline). It’s a main event in the most stacked division in the UFC,” said O’Malley. “And he (Sterling) took that as an offensive comment, which I get. But then he also agreed. He’s like, ‘blah, blah, blah… but he’s right.’

    “So I was saying it like, I’m surprised they don’t just main event (UFC 272). They could, 100%. Would it do crazy numbers? No, but they could be its own main event, that’s what I was saying, and he did not like that,” added O’Malley. “He got offended and started going off. But he also agreed. He’s like, ‘Yeah well, they would have to build a big card around (us),’ which means put me on the card. But I get it. It would be frustrating to be the champ and not be respected as the champ, and the way he won; I get it. I like Aljo, he seems like a good dude.”

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    While it may not have main event status, the second clash between champion Sterling and interim titleholder Yan is sure to bring heat and fireworks during fight week and fight night.

    Given that it’ll have been over a year since their first meeting when they collide at UFC 273, it’ll be interesting to see if Sterling has made the necessary adjustments to match Yan inside the Octagon, something he largely failed to do at UFC 259 despite emerging with the title.

    Do you agree with Sean O’Malley? Was it surprising that the UFC didn’t bump Sterling vs. Yan 2 to main event status at UFC 272?

  • Sterling Throws O’Malley’s ‘Not Big Enough’ Remark Right Back At Him

    UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling has responded to Sean O’Malley’s claim that he and Petr Yan aren’t “big enough” to headline a pay-per-view.

    Sterling is finally set to defend the 135-pound strap for the first time since winning it via disqualification last March. He was initially scheduled to face interim titleholder and arch-rival Yan in a unification bout at UFC 272.

    After Max Holloway withdrew from his trilogy with Alexander Volkanovski and the featherweight champ’s next defense was pushed back to UFC 273 in April, the bantamweight grudge match went with it.

    Despite the bitter rivalry between the two elite 135lbers, which began with Sterling’s title crowning at UFC 259 and picked up when he withdrew from UFC 267 last October, the promotion was seemingly unwilling to have the two bantamweight titleholders main event the March PPV in the absence of Volkanovski’s 145-pound defense, something Yan believes Sterling is firmly at fault for.

    During a recent episode of his podcast, #12-ranked contender O’Malley commented on that, suggesting the occupiers of his weight class’ gold simply aren’t big enough to headline a pay-per-view, something he believes is a problem given that bantamweight is one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC.

    Sterling Tells O’Malley To “Fight Somebody, Bro”

    In a fashion similar to what we’ve come to expect at 135 pounds, Sterling has now responded to “Sugar,” and he certainly didn’t mince his word.

    During an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, “Funk Master” told O’Malley that if he wants to keep talking, he needs to fight a “real” contender, something he pointed out didn’t end well for the 27-year-old at UFC 252 in 2020.

    “O’Malley’s gonna do what O’Malley does, which is talk,” said Sterling. “He talks a big game, but we come to find out that he’s a lot of talk, a lot of bark, and no bite. The last time he tried to bite off more than he can chew, what happened? He did the broke-leg dance


    Sean O'Malley
    Sean O’Malley (Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa)

    “So O’Malley, if you wanna keep talking like this, step up to the plate and fight somebody—I don’t want to say ‘good’—but fight somebody that’s a contender, a real contender so we can see how good he really is. Ricky Simon’s been calling him out, Merab’s [Dvalishvili] been calling him out, a lot of guys been calling him out—[Brian] Kelleher’s been calling him out. Fight somebody, bro. Fight somebody.”

    Despite later admitting that O’Malley’s point wasn’t wholly wrong, Sterling claimed it’s on the UFC to create a card with him and Yan at the top worthy of the price tag, rather than relying on one bout to sell it to the fans. The bantamweight champ concluded by suggesting nobody would pay top dollar for just an O’Malley headliner.

    “I do think O’Malley had a point in possibly saying that maybe we probably couldn’t headline a card by ourselves, but that’s not on us. That’s on the UFC to put together a fight card that’s worthy of customers to pay a $70 price tag to pay for,” added Sterling. “I think that’s pretty black and white. You can’t just rely on one fight to be the main fight for—I mean, I don’t know a lot of people who are gonna pay $70 just to watch one fight


    “I’m pretty sure if it was just Sean O’Malley and a bunch of other guys that are up-and-coming, not really any type of notoriety, people aren’t paying $75 to watch Sean O’Malley fight, either. So I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about in that regard. So if the UFC puts together a great card with top-10 fights and matchups that mean something, people are gonna pay. So it doesn’t really matter who’s headlining. The UFC is the UFC. If it’s a good fight card, people are gonna pay to tune in to watch it.”

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    While it may not be a main event, Sterling and Yan are still set to collide on the pay-per-view stage later this year and will look to settle their score for good.

    For the New York native, the rematch represents the opportunity for him to legitimize his reign and cement his place on the throne. For the Russian, UFC 273 offers the chance to regain the undisputed title he firmly believes he never should have lost. The build-up is certainly set to be a heated one.

    Do you agree with Aljamain Sterling’s response to Sean O’Malley’s comments?

  • O’Malley: Yan & Sterling Aren’t Big Enough To Main Event A PPV

    UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley doesn’t believe champion Aljamain Sterling and interim titleholder Petr Yan are “big enough” to headline a pay-per-view.

    The much-anticipated rematch between Sterling and Yan, originally scheduled for UFC 267 last October, was set to go down at UFC 272 in March. After they were to unify the bantamweight title in the co-main, Alexander Volkanovski was targeted to defend his featherweight belt against Max Holloway in the main event.

    But after Holloway withdrew through injury and the trilogy clash was off, Volkanovski’s next appearance, expected to be against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, was moved back a month to UFC 273. Following that fight to April was the bantamweight unification bout.

    With both title fights pushed back, UFC 272 will now be headlined by a non-title grudge match between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington.

    O’Malley: “They Need Big Daddy”

    During a recent episode of his YouTube podcast, #12-ranked bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley commented on the adjusted schedule. His takeaway from the decision to move Sterling and Yan’s rematch to UFC 273 was that the pair simply aren’t big enough to headline a pay-per-view.

    O’Malley’s solution to the bantamweight division not boasting PPV-headline names? “Big daddy.”

    “You know what’s crazy to me? Well, I don’t know if it’s crazy or not. Petr and Aljo can’t main event their own pay-per-view. So their main event [Volkanovski vs. Holloway 3] pulled out. They couldn’t just, ‘Ah, we’ll be main event.’ They’re not big enough. It’s weird. The best division in the UFC, maybe, and they can’t even headline their own pay-per-view. They need big daddy.”

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    Sterling won the title last March at UFC 259. Despite being behind in the fight heading into the fourth round, an illegal knee from Yan saw “Funk Master” become the first UFC champion to be crowned via disqualification.

    After lingering issues from neck surgery forced him out of UFC 267, Yan faced Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi and won interim gold, setting up a unification showdown with his arch-rival in 2022.

    Do you agree with Sean O’Malley’s assertion that Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan aren’t big enough names to headline their own pay-per-view?