Aljamain Sterling News

Adam Martin - December 5, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling praised Jose Aldo for his “phenomenal performance” against Rob Font at UFC Vegas 44. Sterling was in attendance on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, to see Aldo defeat Font in the headliner of UFC Vegas 44. For Aldo, it was his third straight win following previous victories over Marlon Vera and Pedro Munhoz. Despite being 35 years old, somehow Aldo appears to actually be getting better in his MMA career, and his run at 135lbs as of late has been impressive. Sterling, especially, can admit he was impressed.

Adam D Martin - November 24, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling trolled his rival Petr Yan with his latest injury news, joking that “doc says back in 2023.” Sterling defeated Yan at UFC 259 earlier this year via fourth-round DQ after the Russian was disqualified for throwing an illegal knee to the head of a grounded opponent. It was the first time in UFC history that a belt changed hands following a disqualification, with Sterling being crowned the new UFC bantamweight champion after Yan lost his belt. The two were then supposed to fight at UFC 267 in October in a rematch, but Sterling was forced to pull out of the fight due to an injury. Instead of Yan vs. Sterling, the UFC called upon top contender Cory Sandhagen to step up on short notice. Yan ended up beating Sandhagen via unanimous decision in what was the “Fight of the Night” at UFC 267.

Chris Taylor - November 20, 2021

Sean O’Malley trolled UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling while confirming his interest in fighting Adrian Yanez this March. O’Malley (14-1 MMA), who is scheduled to return at next month’s UFC 269 event for a bantamweight bout with Raulian Paiva (21-3 MMA), raised eyebrows this afternoon when he tweeted “March” following the conclusion of today’s FOTN scrap between Adrian Yanez and Davey Grant.

Christopher Taylor - November 9, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling was not happy to see Petr Yan’s name included in the latest ESPN P4P rankings. Earlier this afternoon, ESPN released their updated UFC P4P rankings. The 10-fighter list was voted on by journalists Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, Carlos Legaspi, Mike Coppinger and Jeff Wagenheim.

Cole Shelton - November 1, 2021

Aljamain Sterling was impressed with Petr Yan’s performance at UFC 267. In the co-main event of the card from Abu Dhabi, Yan was facing Cory Sandhagen for the interim bantamweight title. Originally, Yan and Sterling were going to have their rematch but the champ wasn’t medically cleared. When he was watching the fight, however, Sterling was impressed with Yan’s technical approach.

Christopher Taylor - October 30, 2021

Dana White reacted to Saturday’s absolute war between Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen during tonight’s UFC 267 post-fight press conference. Yan (16-2 MMA) and Sandhagen (14-4 MMA) squared off in today’s co-main event with the promotions interim bantamweight title up for grabs.

Chris Taylor - October 30, 2021

Aljamain Sterling clearly tuned in to watch Saturday’s UFC 267 interim bantamweight title fight between Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen. Sterling (21-3 MMA), the UFC’s reigning bantamweight champion, was originally slated to rematch Yan (16-2 MMA) at today’s event, this after their initial fight ended in controversial fashion at UFC 259. However, lingering issues from neck surgery prevented ‘Funkmaster’ from being able to compete.

Adam D Martin - October 28, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan says that he is not interested in the Aljamain Sterling rematch even with a win at UFC 267. Yan was supposed to fight Sterling in a rematch in the co-main event of UFC 267, which takes place on Saturday on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Yan and Sterling met earlier this year at UFC 259 when Yan was the champion defending his belt. However, Yan made a massive blunder in that fight when he landed an illegal knee on Sterling in the fourth round and finished him with it, leading to a disqualification. The ending of the fight was very controversial and the UFC immediately booked the rematch.

Cole Shelton - October 26, 2021

Aljamain Sterling is happy he decided to have neck surgery, despite it meaning he couldn’t defend his bantamweight title at UFC 267. Sterling and Yan were supposed to have their rematch in the co-main event in a highly-anticipated bout. However, after Sterling had neck surgery he wasn’t medically cleared to fight, but for the bantamweight champ, he’s still glad he got the surgery.

Harry Kettle - October 12, 2021

Demetrious Johnson stands by his thoughts on the “downed opponent” rule despite Aljamain Sterling’s karma remarks. We’ve over six months removed from Aljamain Sterling’s DQ win over Petr Yan that had many questioning Sterling as he went on to claim the UFC bantamweight title. Demetrious Johnson, in the immediate aftermath, said that the knee Yan struck Sterling with should’ve been deemed legal, suggesting Sterling knew where to put his hands as he could feel the momentum of the fight shifting.

Harry Kettle - October 7, 2021

TJ Dillashaw has doubts that UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will be able to return after his recent neck surgery. The top of the bantamweight division has been an interesting place for many months now ever since Sterling won the belt from Petr Yan via disqualification. We were scheduled to see the rematch later this month but as a result of Sterling pulling out due to lingering issues following neck surgery, Yan will now fight Cory Sandhagen for the interim strap.

Adam D Martin - October 4, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling explained why he withdrew from his scheduled UFC 267 rematch against his rival, Petr Yan. Sterling defeat Yan via a controversial fourth-round DQ back at UFC 259 in March. Yan was in complete control of the fight and was well on his way to finishing it or at least winning a decision. However, he made a colossal error when he landed an illegal knee to the head of a downed opponent. Sterling was not able to continue and, in a UFC first, the belt changed hands via DQ. Although Yan deserved to be punished for his infraction, there are many fans out there who are not buying Sterling as a champion due to him winning the fight by DQ.

Cole Shelton - September 29, 2021

Aljamain Sterling wants it known that the bantamweight division is in this mess because of Petr Yan. At UFC 259 in March, Yan was looking to defend the belt for the first time when he took on Sterling. Early on, Sterling had success but after that, the Russian began to take over and was on his way to winning the fight. Yet, in the fourth round, he threw an illegal knee and Sterling couldn’t continue so the fight was ruled a DQ and Sterling became the champ.

Adam Martin - September 29, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling shared his prediction for the upcoming interim title fight between Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen. Sterling defeated Yan via fourth-round DQ at UFC 259 earlier this year to become the undisputed 135lbs champion, but with the stoppage being so controversial, the UFC had no choice but to book an immediate rematch. Sterling and Yan were supposed to fight at UFC 267 in October, but the rematch was scrapped last week when Sterling was forced to withdraw due to lingering injuries. The UFC was adamant that Yan stays on the card and the promotion booked him against one of the division’s other top contenders in Sandhagen for an interim title fight. The two will now meet at UFC 267 for the interim 135lbs belt.

Cole Shelton - September 27, 2021

Aljamain Sterling has opened up on why he was forced out of his rematch against Petr Yan at UFC 267. On Saturday, it was revealed Sterling was out of the fight due to lingering issues with his neck. However, according to the bantamweight champion, he tried to push through training but his body wouldn’t allow it. He then asked for the fight to be delayed but the UFC doctors pulled him from the fight and the promotion decided to keep Yan on UFC 267 for an interim belt.

Adam D Martin - September 27, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan trashed the “sneaky coward” Aljamain Sterling for pulling out of their UFC 267 rematch. Yan was expected to meet Sterling in a rematch in the co-main event of UFC 267 next month, but the fight was scratched when Sterling was forced to pull out of the bout with an injury. With Sterling out, the UFC is hoping to book an interim title fight for Fight Island, with Yan in one corner of the fight and another top contender in the other corner. As far as Yan goes, while he wanted to fight Sterling badly and get his revenge, at this point he is telling the UFC matchmakers to get anyone in the top-10 who is available to fight him.

Christopher Taylor - September 25, 2021

Aljamain Sterling has been forced out of his scheduled rematch with Petr Yan at UFC 267 and Sean O’Malley is willing to fill the void. Sterling (20-3 MMA) captured the promotions bantamweight title back in March, this after Yan (15-2 MMA) was disqualified from their fight due to an illegal knee in round four. Prior to the fight-ending strike, the Russian appeared to well on his way to earning his first career title defense.

Adam D Martin - September 24, 2021

One of the rising contenders at 135lbs, Merab Dvalishvili explained why he would never fight UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling. Dvalishvili is currently riding a six-fight win streak into his bantamweight bout against Marlon Moraes at this Saturday’s UFC 266 event. Should Dvalishvili win the fight, he would move closer to the top-five of the 135lbs weight class, and therefore, closer to the man at the top, his teammate at Serra-Longo Fight Team, Sterling. The team right now has two of the best bantamweights in the world in the same stable, which could lead to a tricky situation if both men keep winning. But as far as Dvalishvili is concerned, he will not be fighting Sterling, regardless of whether or not there is a belt on the line between them.