Mixed martial arts is a tough business. While most fighters spend their years never quite being able to capture a championship belt, fighters like UFC star Aljamain Sterling find themselves at the top of their respective divisions, only to lose their titles to other fighters.
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Sterling had always been a contender in the bantamweight division, finally getting a shot at bantamweight gold in March 2021. He would become champion when Peter Yan struck him with an illegal knee. After becoming champion, Sterling caught all kinds of criticisms about being “gifted” the title.
Even through all that, he defended his title against Yan again, TJ Dillashaw, and Henry Cejudo. Sterling quieter all the “haters” with three solid title defenses, before he faced off with featherweight star Sean O’Malley.
At UFC 292 in Aug. 2023, Sterling suffered a KO/TKO loss in the second round. Sterling would go on to defeat Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 in April. Despite rebounding, Sterling announced he nearly retired after his loss to O’Malley.
Sterling joined “The Ariel Helwani Show” to discuss nearly walking away from the fight game.
Sterling announces that after his loss to O’Malley, he considered retiring from MMA and seeking out potentially being a coach.
“I was like maybe I coach … I was just champion, but there was a lot from the mental aspect of being coerced into the fight. And I know people are going to say ‘Shut the f*** up, you signed the contract.’ Before I signed the contract, there were multiple ‘No’s.’”
Apparently, Sterling revealed that he told the UFC “no” many times to accept a fight with O’Malley. The former champion also revealed that his “Funk Harbor” rum had a failed launch, which he hoped to capitalize on with the organization.
Sterling also revealed that not being able to be given a break between fights like he was promised did not happen, resulting in his contemplating retirement. Despite talks of retirement and not seeing a clear path to UFC gold, Sterling is now set to face off against
Though Sterling nearly walked away, he is now set to face off against Movsar Evolev at UFC 310 on Dec 7. The pair were meant to fight on October 5, but Sterling was injured in sparring. Now, they will finally face off in less than a month.
Sterling also believes that a big win against the undefeated Evolev should propel him into a title shot against feather champion Ilia Topuria.
Sterling is the No. 9 ranked featherweight in the UFC. With Topuria knocking out Max Holloway, his next opponent is likely going to be against No. 1 ranked contender, Alexander Volkanovski.
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Volkanovski and Topuria both verbally agreed to a rematch, but it appears that Sterling thinks he should be in the conversation for the featherweight title. Should Sterling take down the No. 5 ranked contender in Evolev, that could be a possibility.
Either way, Sterling is set to once again chase UFC gold.
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