Aljamain Sterling News

Harry Kettle - May 19, 2021

Aljamain Sterling has revealed that he wasn’t feeling well on the night of UFC 259 as he prepares to return to the Octagon later this year. On that night in Las Vegas, Sterling gave as good as he got against Yan – but ultimately, many fans felt as if “No Mercy” was starting to move ahead in the scorecards heading into the later rounds of the fight.

Harry Kettle - May 19, 2021

Former two-weight world champion Henry Cejudo has offered to come out of retirement for a fight against one of three UFC title holders. Cejudo, also known as “Triple C”, has spent the last few years building a real platform for himself as he continues to spread his name and brand out there in the mainstream media.

Harry Kettle - May 4, 2021

UFC referee Herb Dean has given his thoughts on the controversial ending to Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling back at UFC 259. In their UFC Bantamweight Championship clash, it appeared as if Yan was well on his way to successfully retaining his title. However, after he threw an illegal knee at a downed opponent, Sterling was able to leave the UFC APEX as champion through a disqualification victory.

Harry Kettle - April 27, 2021

Cory Sandhagen has revealed that he wasn’t impressed by Aljamain Sterling after his win over Petr Yan and that he believes Yan will win the rematch. Sandhagen, who was beaten by Sterling via submission back at UFC 250, has since bounced back with devastating wins over Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar. Now, he’ll turn his attention towards an enticing fight against the returning TJ Dillashaw on May 8.

Harry Kettle - April 16, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has shared an X-ray photo of his neck injury as he awaits his impending surgery. Sterling has made it known that this surgery was coming after making a note of how badly damaged his neck has been for the last few years. In the same breath, he’s also tried to reassure fans that the reports of him being out of action for up to nine months are false.

Adam Martin - April 11, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has revealed his timetable for his return to the Octagon after opting for neck surgery. Sterling became the new UFC 135lbs champion last month at UFC 259 when he defeated Petr Yan via first-round DQ after the Russian finished the fight with an illegal knee. The two rivals were fully expected to rematch in the coming months once both men recovered from the fight, but it appears as though the rematch is going to have to wait. That’s because Sterling is opting to get neck surgery. Speaking on his “Weekly Scraps” podcast, Sterling explained why he is getting the surgery now and said when he will be able to fight again.

Adam D Martin - April 11, 2021

UFC bantamweight Petr Yan shared the Marlon Moraes knockout in his latest jab at Aljamain Sterling: “Actor fought 4 months after that KO.” Yan illegally kneed Sterling in the head while he was a downed opponent in a fight he was dominating at UFC 259. With the knee hurting Sterling badly enough to the point he could not continue, the fight was stopped and declared a DQ win for Sterling by referee Mark Smith. The call was controversial, as it was the first time in UFC history that a title has changed hands via disqualification. Based on the rules, it was a fair call made by the referee. However, Sterling winning the belt instead of Yan has affected the 135lbs title picture.

Chris Taylor - April 9, 2021

Aljamain Sterling was not pleased to see that some fans were calling for him to be stripped of the UFC bantamweight title due to his upcoming neck surgery. Sterling (20-3 MMA) captured the promotions 135-lbs title in less than favorable fashion at UFC 259, being awarded a DQ victory after Petr Yan struck him with an illegal knee.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling praised fellow divisional rival Sean O’Malley, suggesting that “Suga” is “the real deal.” Sterling is coming off of his title fight DQ win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 last month, a victory that saw him crowned the new champion at 135lbs. While Sterling appears poised for a rematch with his rival Petr Yan sometime later this year, he’s obviously still very aware of what else is going on in his division, and one of the fighters he’s keeping a close eye on is O’Malley. Coming off of an incredible KO win over Thomas Almeida at UFC 260, O’Malley appears poised to breakout in 2021 provided he can stay healthy. What O’Malley did against Almeida hasn’t gone unnoticed by anyone, namely the champion himself.

Chris Taylor - April 3, 2021

Henry Cejudo did not hold back on Aljamain Sterling after the current UFC bantamweight champion took a shot at him on social media. Sterling had recently commented on a photo shared by Cejudo, where he insinuated that the “ex-champ” had something in his teeth.

Cole Shelton - March 30, 2021

Petr Yan continues to trade shots with Aljamain Sterling. After Yan was DQ’d against Sterling at UFC 259 to lose his bantamweight title, it was thought an immediate rematch would be next. However, Sterling has made it clear he wouldn’t be opposed to a different opponent  and believes Yan shouldn’t get rewarded with a title shot.

Cole Shelton - March 26, 2021

Aljamain Sterling doesn’t understand why Petr Yan is getting a rematch. At UFC 259, Sterling fought Yan for the bantamweight title and it was a high-action fight. However, entering the championship rounds, Yan was starting to take over but in the fourth round, Yan landed an illegal knee and the fight was over and Sterling became the new champ by DQ.

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling called Petr Yan a “dirty dickhead” as the two rivals got into a war of words on social media. Sterling and Yan’s 135lbs title fight at UFC 259 ended in controversy when the former champion nailed “Funk Master” in the head with an illegal knee in the fourth round, which left the challenger unable to continue. For the first time in UFC history, a title changed hands via DQ after referee Mark Smith deemed the foul international and Yan was disqualified. Sterling was, therefore, declared the winner and he’s now the champion.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Aljamain Sterling and Matt Serra appear to be on good terms. In the lead-up to UFC 259, Sterling was training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and added Eric Nicksick to his corner. With the addition of Nicksick, Serra was removed from the corner, and the former welterweight champion admitted he was very upset by the news. The former UFC welterweight champion also announced his retirement from cornering fighters which caused a ton of backlash on Sterling, who was already feeling the heat following the illegal knee DQ finish in the Petr Yan fight at UFC 259.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling believes that he “outstruck” Petr Yan in their title fight at UFC 259, one that ended via DQ. Sterling won the 135lbs title after Yan landed an illegal knee late in the fourth round that rendered Sterling unable to continue fighting. Referee Mark Smith called the fight off on the advice of the cage-side doctor, and Sterling was named the new UFC bantamweight champion. For many fans, it’s been hard to accept Sterling as a champion because many people felt he was losing the fight to Yan. At the time of the stoppage, Yan was up 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29 on the three judges’ scorecards, and he was winning the fourth round.

Cole Shelton - March 15, 2021

Petr Yan is confident he will get his belt back when he rematches Aljamain Sterling. At UFC 259, Yan was looking to defend his belt for the first time and after three rounds it appeared he would do just that. He had dropped Sterling in the first, stuffed 16 of 17 takedowns, and even took Sterling down on all seven attempts. The challenger was also fading, but in the fourth round, Yan threw an illegal knee and he was DQ’d meaning Sterling was the new champ.

Adam Martin - March 14, 2021

UFC featherweight Billy Quarantillo, who was a guest, says that Aljamain Sterling didn’t want to celebrate at his UFC 259 post-fight party. Sterling has been the talk of the MMA community ever since last weekend’s UFC 259 card, where he won the UFC bantamweight title via DQ against Petr Yan. It was a controversial moment as this marked the first time in UFC history that a fighter has won a belt via DQ. It was even more controversial because there were many fans and even fellow fighters who thought Sterling hammed up the knee to get the win. When photos of Sterling emerged following the fight with him wearing his belt, it gave even more ammunition to those who were against “Funk Master,” particularly after Yan called Sterling a “clown” for the photos.

Adam D Martin - March 14, 2021

WWE superstar Big E explained how UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling can embrace a “babyface role” following his fight at UFC 259. Sterling won the UFC’s 135lbs belt last weekend at UFC 259 with a DQ win over Petr Yan. Since winning the belt, it feels like Sterling has made somewhat of a “heel turn” after taking photos with the belt, calling for a fight with Henry Cejudo, and not asking Matt Serra to corner him. However, according to WWE superstar Big E, the heel route is not one that Sterling should go down. Speaking to “The A-Side,” Big E said that Sterling should instead go play the “babyface role” and he explained why he thinks that should be the case.