Aljamain Sterling News

Aljamain Sterling
UFC

Aljamain Sterling shuts down talk of having future UFC fights at bantamweight: “There’s no more 135”

Harry Kettle - January 10, 2024

Former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling has confirmed that he will never return to the bantamweight division. Over the course of the last few years, Aljamain Sterling has cemented his legacy at 135 pounds. He became a household name and held the championship high, successfully defending it on three occasions. Unfortunately, his run came to an end last summer when he was beaten via TKO by Sean O’Malley.

Aljamain Sterling
Sean O'Malley

Sean O’Malley reacts to Aljamain Sterling’s loss at Fury Pro Grappling 8: “If you butt scoot, you're a fruit loop”

Harry Kettle - January 3, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has given his thoughts on Aljamain Sterling’s recent grappling defeat. Ever since losing his bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley, Aljamain Sterling has been preparing for a return to the Octagon. He’s been doing so in plenty of ways, which includes taking part in grappling contests.

Aljamain Sterling posing
Sean O'Malley

Aljamain Sterling was shocked by the dismal pay-per-view numbers generated from UFC 292 fight with Sean O’Malley

Harry Kettle - December 27, 2023

Aljamain Sterling has admitted that he was surprised by the PPV numbers generated from his fight against Sean O’Malley. Earlier this year, Aljamain Sterling was able to defeat Henry Cejudo and successfully retain his UFC bantamweight championship. Then, just a matter of months later, he went up against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292. While it was a quick turnaround, many still felt as if Sterling was the favorite to get the win.

Aljamain Sterling, Henry Cejudo, UFC 298, UFC
Henry Cejudo

Aljamain Sterling reveals the one thing that could benefit Henry Cejudo in fight with Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298

Susan Cox - December 21, 2023

Aljamain Sterling has revealed the one thing that could benefit Henry Cejudo in a fight with Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298. UFC 298 will take place on Saturday, February 17th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Aljamain Sterling posing
Dana White

Dana White addresses Aljamain Sterling having his tickets pulled at UFC 296: “The team reached right out to him”

Harry Kettle - December 18, 2023

UFC CEO Dana White has addressed Aljamain Sterling having his tickets pulled prior to the UFC 296 last weekend. On Saturday night, UFC 296 went down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a fascinating event for a multitude of reasons, with plenty of big UFC stars being in attendance to watch the action go down.

Aljamain Sterling and Calvin Kattar
Calvin Kattar

Aljamain Sterling turns his attention to Calvin Kattar after Max Holloway fight fizzles out: “I just think he has bigger opportunities”

Harry Kettle - December 8, 2023

Aljamain Sterling has called for a fight against Calvin Kattar after plans for a bout with Max Holloway seemingly fell through. Ever since his loss to Sean O’Malley earlier this year, Aljamain Sterling has been looking for fresh opportunities. At the top of that list, seemingly, is a move to featherweight.

Aljamain Sterling and Alexander Volkanovski
Aljamain Sterling

Alexander Volkanovski reveals easy way for Aljamain Sterling to secure title shot; "It's that simple"

Josh Evanoff - December 6, 2023

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is willing to give Aljamain Sterling a title shot if he beats Max Holloway. ‘The Great’ is currently slated to return at UFC 298 next February against Ilia Topuria. For Alexander Volkanovski, the bout will be his first since a knockout loss to Islam Makhachev in October. It also comes at a time, when the division is welcoming a former champion in the form of Aljamain Sterling. He made the announcement late last month, ending speculation about his future.

Aljamain Sterling posing
Sean O'Malley

Sean O’Malley casts doubt on Aljamain Sterling moving up to featherweight: “He’s insecure”

Harry Kettle - November 27, 2023

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has cast doubt on Aljamain Sterling’s longevity at featherweight. Earlier this year, Sean O’Malley knocked out Aljamain Sterling to claim the bantamweight crown. Prior to doing so, ‘Funk Master’ had teased the idea of making a move up to featherweight from 135 pounds. Even in the aftermath of the loss to O’Malley, Sterling made it clear that a switch to featherweight is still very much something he’s considering.

Aljamain Sterling and Calvin Kattar
Calvin Kattar

Aljamain Sterling reveals he's been offered Calvin Kattar for UFC featherweight debut

Cole Shelton - November 14, 2023

Aljamain Sterling could be moving up to featherweight for his next fight. Sterling is coming off a knockout loss to Sean O’Malley in August to lose the bantamweight title. Prior to the setback, he was already talking about moving up to featherweight, as the cut to 135lbs was getting harder and harder.

Aljamain Sterling, Jon Jones, UFC
Jon Jones

Aljamain Sterling discusses his relationship with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones: “We aren't as cool as we once were”

Susan Cox - November 7, 2023

Aljamain Sterling is discussing his relationship with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Sterling (23-4 MMA) and Jones (27-1 MMA) were junior college wrestling teammates at SUNY Morrisville.

Aljamain Sterling and Max Holloway
Max Holloway

Aljamain Sterling eyeing Max Holloway for potential featherweight debut: "I'll show you guys what's up"

Josh Evanoff - October 13, 2023

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling would love to fight Max Holloway. ‘The Funk Master’ has been out of action since a title defense against Sean O’Malley in August. Despite heading into the matchup a heavy favorite, Aljamain Sterling suffered a second-round knockout loss. Despite calls for an instant rematch, ‘Sugar’ instead targeted a potential rematch with Marlon Vera.

Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo continues to take aim at Merab Dvalishvili, calls him “Aljamain Sterling's Butt Plug”

Harry Kettle - October 12, 2023

Former two-weight UFC champion Henry Cejudo has continued to go after divisional rival Merab Dvalishvili. It’s safe to say that when it comes to trash talking, Henry Cejudo is as prolific as anyone. From the start of the ‘Triple C’ era to the present day, there’s always been a lot of intrigue surrounding the Olympian and what he’s going to say next. After his narrow defeat to Aljamain Sterling earlier this year, some felt as if he may slow down a bit – but that isn’t the case.

Merab-Dvalishvili-Aljamain-Sterling
Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Dvalishvili walks back on his stance of “never fighting” his friend Aljamain Sterling

Susan Cox - October 5, 2023

Merab Dvalishvili is walking back on his stance of ‘never fighting’ his friend Aljamain Sterling. It was Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA) who said, back in September of 2021, prior to his TKO victory over Marlon Moraes (23-13 MMA) at UFC 266:

Chael Sonnen
Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen names the opponent he would “love” to see Aljamain Sterling fight in his featherweight debut

Susan Cox - October 3, 2023

Chael Sonnen is naming the opponent he would ‘love’ to see Aljamain Sterling fight in his featherweight debut. UFC 292 saw Aljamain Sterling (23-4 MMA) unseated from his UFC title when Sean O’Malley (17-1 MMA) TKO’d him at 0:51 of round 2 on August 19th in Boston. ‘Suga’, at 28, became the new UFC bantamweight champion.

Daniel Cormier, Aljamain Sterling
Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier says Aljamain Sterling “absolutely” deserves a rematch with Sean O’Malley

Fernando Quiles - October 1, 2023

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier admits he feels Aljamain Sterling deserves a rematch against Sean O’Malley, but he doubts it’ll happen. Sterling is well aware that O’Malley would prefer to try to avenge his lone pro MMA defeat to Marlon “Chito” Vera rather than fight him or Merab Dvalishvili next. “Funk Master,” who lost the UFC bantamweight title via second-round TKO to O’Malley back in August, has called for “Sugar” to stop cherry picking his first title defense.

Aljamain Sterling, Sean O'Malley
Sean O'Malley

Former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling sends a message to Sean O’Malley following victory at Polaris 25: “Stop ducking the top contenders”

Fernando Quiles - October 1, 2023

Aljamain Sterling has sent a direct message to UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. Sterling wasn’t shy in giving O’Malley a piece of his mind following a grappling showdown with Mike Grundy at Polaris 25. “Funk Master” emerged victorious via decision. After the match, Sterling was interviewed and he turned his attention to the “Sugar” show.

Sean O'Malley Aljamain Sterling UFC 292
Dana White

Aljamain Sterling knows Dana White was happy to see him lose to Sean O'Malley: "The golden goose won"

Josh Evanoff - September 20, 2023

Aljamain Sterling is well aware that Dana White was happy to see him lose to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292. ‘The Funk Master’ and ‘Sugar’ faced off in the company’s return to Boston last month. They faced off in the main event of UFC 292, just months after Aljamain Sterling’s title defense against Henry Cejudo. Famously, he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea of fighting Sean O’Malley after such a fast turnaround.

Israel Adesanya, Sean O'Malley, Aljamain Sterling
Israel Adesanya

Aljamain Sterling reacts to talk of Israel Adesanya possibly getting another immediate rematch: “How do you get it and I don’t?”

Harry Kettle - September 18, 2023

Aljamain Sterling has questioned why he shouldn’t get a rematch for the title if Israel Adesanya manages to receive one. Following his shocking loss to Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya has been fairly quiet when it comes to talks of an immediate rematch. Nobody knows whether or not it’s going to happen, but the popular opinion is that Dana White would prefer to book that contest.