Tag: Aljamain Sterling

Why Aljamain Sterling disagrees with Sean O’Malley changing his lifestyle after Merab Dvalishvili loss

Aljamain Sterling thinks Sean O’Malley changing his lifestyle won’t make a difference ahead of UFC 316.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] changing his lifestyle won’t make a difference ahead of UFC 316.

After losing the promotion’s bantamweight title to [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) by unanimous decision at UFC 306 this past September, O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will get an immediate rematch in the June 7 headliner (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

O’Malley said he plans to cut out social media, marijuana, and other things to help him in his quest to regain the title. With O’Malley having plenty of success with those things in the past, Sterling thinks O’Malley should focus more on improving his skills.

“So which part did it say, ‘Yeah, and I added in wrestling training sessions,'” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I mean of course, maybe he is. It’s just funny that everyone made such a big thing, ‘Oh he’s changing his life, he’s giving up the Mary Jane.’

“I’m like, those are the things that technically made you who you are and a champion. So, for someone to tell me to go cold turkey, no more drinking, no edibles, nothing, I’m going to look at them like, ‘This is what got me here, why would I stop?'”

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Sterling pointed to UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and rising welterweight contender Carlos Prates as examples of fighters who are successful without necessarily living the healthiest of lifestyles. The former UFC bantamweight champion thinks it’s all mental.

“Carlos Prates, you shouldn’t be smoking ciggies,” Sterling said. “This guy is smoking loosies the day of the fight and not even like one. The man is damn near going through a whole pack, putting guys in the ground.

“So, I’m sitting here like, nah, it’s got to be some type of method to the madness about the mental mind frame that you have to be in when you’re going into the fight. I think that’s the most important thing, like are you comfortable? Are you happy? And if you’re losing after that, then maybe you’ve changed some things up.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 316.

Aljamain Sterling reacts to Sean O’Malley’s bantamweight title rematch vs. Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316

Aljamain Sterling isn’t surprised to see Sean O’Malley rematch Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] isn’t surprised to see [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] rematch [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] at UFC 316.

After losing his bantamweight title to Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) by unanimous decision at UFC 306 this past September, O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will get an immediate opportunity to avenge that loss when the pair run things back in the June 7 headliner at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Sterling never expected to get the same treatment when he lost his title to O’Malley at UFC 292, but he understands why the promotion is opting to give O’Malley that opportunity.

But does he think he deserves it? His response was rather sarcastic.

“Honest answer, the UFC’s gonna do what’s best for the business and the brand. Would I have liked an immediate rematch due to the circumstances going into the first fight? Absolutely. But I understand the business model better than most, and O’Malley is a really exciting guy that has beaten many top five contenders. So I think he rightfully deserves it after all the ranked names he has beaten.”

Dvalishvili has since notched his first title defense by handing Umar Nurmagomedov his first-career loss at UFC 311 in January. Meanwhile, O’Malley underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip – an injury he says he came into the fight with.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 316.

Aljamain Sterling points to one main reason why Alex Pereira lost at UFC 313

Aljamain Sterling thinks Alex’s Pereira’s active UFC schedule took a toll on him.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]’s active UFC schedule took a toll on him.

Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) lost his light heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) by unanimous decision in Saturday’s UFC 313 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Pereira holds the record for shortest time between three UFC title defenses at 175 days. He was one of seven fighters to record three title defenses in a calendar year in 2024. A former champion himself, Sterling said Pereira’s schedule was too taxing on his body.

“Pereira fights way too often,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “Three title defenses in seven months. That is insanity to do that, and it’s not like his fights were pitter-patter fights. You could say that Jamahal Hill one was no damage. OK, cool. I understand that. The Jiri one, he took some damage in that. Then the Khalil Rountree fight was a big fight where he took some good shots.

“You go from that, add on to the fact that he bounces back from these fights and he goes right back into the gym almost one, maybe two weeks later. You compound that with the amount of times that he’s sparring. When does Pereira give himself, his body, and his brain, and his chin a chance to take a break and just recover? I don’t think he gives himself enough time in between fights to give the best version of himself every single time.”

Pereira’s next fight already appears to be lined up with the promotion in favor of an immediate rematch with Ankalaev at a date to be determined.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.

Aljamain Sterling: Alexander Volkanovski ‘going to whoop that ass’ vs. Diego Lopes

Aljamain Sterling has a definitive prediction for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes at UFC 314.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] has a definitive prediction for [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag] at UFC 314.

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) takes on Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) for the vacant featherweight belt in the April 12 main event at Kaseya Center in Miami.

Sterling traded barbs with Lopes and his manager on X after saying that Movsar Evloev deserved to be in the title fight more. But Sterling insists that his prediction of a dominant Volkanovski victory isn’t biased.

“I think Volkanovski is going to put the beats on Lopes,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I would have said that more respectfully had him and his manager not tried to attack me as if I said anything disrespectful to them. I would have been more politically correct about it, but I truly do think Volk is going to put the beats on him. I’m going to give them the reason why Volk is going to whoop that ass. Volkanovski is coming with a vengeance. He is in phenomenal shape. What he does great vs. what Diego Lopes does great is not the same.

“Volk is super well rounded. He’s strong in every single department. Maybe not a submission specialist, but he’s very hip to the grappling game where Diego Lopes is a very good grappler in terms of submission threats, but when it comes to striking, he is an all-or-nothing guy in the first round. There is no pacing about Diego Lopes. The best fight he’s had so far to date where he’s looked technically composed and most technically sharp is the fight with Brian Ortega.”

Sterling went on to break down Lopes’ other UFC wins and how he wasn’t impressed with what he saw. He only gives Lopes a chance to beat Volkanovski early, otherwise he sees him getting drowned in the championship rounds.

“You watch a lot of his other fights, short notice with Dan Ige; Dan Ige is a dog, though,” Sterling said. “His fight with Sodiq Yusuff, I don’t really rate that one too much. No disrespect to Sodiq. He’s an all-or-nothing blitz type of fighter. He runs at you, sprints at you in the first minute or two, and if he clips you, he smells blood in the water, and he’s very, very good at finishing fights from there.

“If that is his game plan against Volkanovski, and he has no Plan B, Diego Lopes is going to lose this fight. There’s no other way to say it. He’s not going five rounds toe-to-toe with Alex Volkanovski. It’s just not happening. I never said he can’t clip Volk. His game plan is to get him out of there in Round 1 because if he doesn’t, the longer that fight goes, I think Volk does this (goes up), and Lopes does this (goes down) in a five-round fight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.

Aljamain Sterling: Merab Dvalishvili will break my record for most UFC title defenses at bantamweight

Aljamain Sterling is confident Merab Davalishvili can break his title defense record in the UFC’s bantamweight division.

MIAMI – [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] is confident his friend and teammate [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] will do big things with his reign as UFC bantamweight champion.

Sterling held the UFC belt at 135 pounds and defended it three times, setting the record for most title defenses in the division. He believes Dvalishvili has all the tools and runway to surpass him in the division, especially after his most recent performance. Earlier this month, Dvalishvili completed his first title defense, handing Umar Nurmagomedov his first professional defeat in a big upset win.

“One hundred percent, I told him in the back room after he won,” Sterling told MMA Junkie when asked about his confidence in Dvalishvili breaking his record. “I said, ‘Brother, I’m telling you right now, you just got your first defense against who they say is supposed to be the toughest guy, and look what you did, look how you made him look.’ I thought it was 4-1 easily.

“With that said, who’s his next toughest challenger? He 50-45’d Petr Yan, who’s a tough dude. Obviously, he’s looked incredible in his last few fights, but I just think the gas tank is such a weapon. I told him, ‘If you want to be the champ for a while, you will break my record. It’s up to you. The only person who can beat you, it’s yourself.’ I truly do believe that.”

Dvalishvili’s win in the co-main event of UFC 311 opened the eyes of many skeptics. For Sterling, he expected Dvalishvili to dominate and was very proud of his showing.

“Overall, I thought it was a great fight,” Sterling said. “He fought exactly how we thought he would do. We know Umar is good, but we just didn’t think he was tested. We knew this was going to be the real test, fighting one of the best guys, if not the best guy, obviously the champ, who was beating champion after champion. I mean, what’s better than that in terms of test value? There was nothing too crazy that he brought to his game.

“The main thing was not getting controlled on bottom, and if we could keep the fight standing we thought he could do really well mixing in the takedowns, and he did exactly that.”

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Aljamain Sterling eyes April return against Arnold Allen or Brian Ortega: ‘I’m still chasing that gold’

The hunt for a second UFC title is still on for Aljamain Sterling, who is aiming to return to action in April against a big opponent.

MIAMI – Former UFC bantamweight champ [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] isn’t done hunting for gold.

“The Funk Master” has already left his mark on the UFC’s 135-pound division by capturing the title and recording three defenses. After dropping the title to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC) moved to featherweight, picking up a big win in his divisional debut over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300.

Given his name and status as a former champion, he was likely one win away if he could get past the undefeated Movsar Evloev at UFC 310. Unfortunately, the judges weren’t on his side that night, initially causing him to question his fighting future.

“A lot of fans don’t think I lost that fight,” Sterling told MMA Junkie. “I watched it back a couple times now, and I still don’t think I lost the fight. Obviously, the judges are the judge, so whatever they say is going to stay in the history books. I would love to run it back with him, if not, maybe fight Arnold Allen, Brian Ortega.”

As a 1-1 fighter at 145 pounds, Sterling, 35, remains confident that a path to the title is still viable. For now, the talk of retirement has subsided. The fights to come must have meaning, though. Sterling wants to get his hands on the featherweight title, and is open to going down whatever path that may require.

“I want to fight up,” Sterling said. “I don’t really want to fight down, but if I have to, to prove my worth again, then it is what it is. I’m still chasing that gold. If I could get a second gold belt, man, that’s another legacy thing that people can’t take away from me.

“So, I’m chasing history at this point. Of course, the paychecks are good, but I’m not fighting just to be in there to say I’m fighting. I’m in there to beat the best guys. I’m in there to say I fought the best guys, and that’s what it’s about for the rest of my career.”

Sterling currently sits at No. 9 in the UFC’s featherweight rankings. Evloev holds the No. 4 spot, while the names he mentioned as potential next opponents, Ortega and Allen, hold No. 6 and 7 respectively. While he’s a little further down the ladder than he would like, Sterling remains confident a win or two would put him right back in the title mix, especially considering the uncertainty of the current champion, Ilia Topuria.

“I’d say (I’m) maybe one or two fights away,” Sterling said. “So, it just really depends on the landscape, how I look in the fight, what Topuria’s going to do. If he’s going to vacate, then that puts two new challengers to fight for a vacated belt. So, it really depends.

“I don’t really know what’s going to happen in the future, but I’m patiently waiting. Hopefully, I can make my return in April. Maybe fight again in August or September, and get ready to go.”

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UFC notables appear in ‘Grace Point’ movie, set to release this week

One former UFC champion plays a priest. Another, a henchman. Another, a man with a bat at a gas station.

Give the soon-to-be-released “Grace Point” movie a view and you’ll likely spot some familiar fighting faces.

Former UFC champions [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag], as well as former UFC fighter and current analyst [autotag]Din Thomas[/autotag] all have speaking roles in the drama-thriller that releases on digital platforms Tuesday with a limited theatrical run.

The movie, directed and written by filmmaker Rory Karpf, stars John Owen Lowe (son of Rob Lowe), Andrew McCarthy (of Brat Pack infamy), and Harlan Drum (“MacGyver”, “Friendship Never Dies”).

In addition to the work that earned him five Emmys and a Peabody Award, Karpf is known in the MMA space for his work with the UFC. He’s worked on various projects for the promotion including the long-running series “Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight.” “Grace Point” is Karpf’s first scripted film.

The plot centers around Brandon, a young man struggling with a drug problem and played Lowe, as he takes a trip with his father (McCarthy) to a rehabilitation center in a small town. When their car breaks down, the excursion takes an unexpected and terrifying left turn.

The 84-minute film is fast-paced and action-packed with twists and turns as Lowe’s character Brandon tries to escape danger and find answers.

Check out the trailer for “Grace Point” above.

Aljamain Sterling: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley rematch ‘hard fight to sell’

Aljamain Sterling isn’t sure a rematch between UFC bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley is the fight to make.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] isn’t sure that a rematch between UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] and [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] is the fight to make.

Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) retained his title when he outlasted Umar Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) in this past Saturday’s UFC 311 main event at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Prior to the fight, UFC CEO Dana White said that O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is likely next in line for a title shot. Dvalishvili defeated O’Malley in pretty decisive fashion to claim the bantamweight title last September.

“It’ll be a nice payday,” Sterling said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I think it would be a really nice payday. The toughest fight will probably be the Petr Yan rematch and probably the most deserving in terms of what has he done lately. O’Malley fought Yan, he took 10-and-a-half, maybe 11 months off, and these are all facts.

“Then he fought me in August, and then he took more time off. Came back in March to fight ‘Chito’ (Vera), and then he fought again in September, and then he has fought again or won’t fight again until July or June. People talk about activity. … It’s just such a weird thing.”

O’Malley was taken down six times and controlled for more than 10 minutes in his unanimous decision loss to Dvalishvili. He was unable to land any significant offense outside of a late body kick, which certainly caught Dvalishvili’s attention.

Sterling, who was knocked out by O’Malley at UFC 292, doesn’t see “The Suga Show” beating Dvalishvili outside of landing a lucky punch.

“In terms of the better paycheck potentially, especially where Merab is now in his career, I think it might be the rematch with O’Malley,” Sterling continued. “I just think, in my opinion, it’s just a hard fight to sell. You’re not selling me that O’Malley does anything differently other than hoping to catch him once in 25 minutes. I don’t know, maybe he goes out and tries to toe kick him in the first round or something.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.

Aljamain Sterling: Merab Dvalishvili ‘is going to shut a lot of people up’ vs. Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311

Aljamain Sterling thinks the odds are in Merab Dvalishvili’s favor to beat Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] thinks the odds are in [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]’s favor to beat [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] at UFC 311.

Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) defends his bantamweight title against Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+) at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

Although betting odds suggest otherwise, Sterling is confident that his teammate will remind everyone why he’s unbeaten in his past 11 appearances.

“I think if we can keep the fight where we want it, Merab is going to shut a lot of people up and going to prove a lot of people right that he is who he says he is,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “No disrespect to Umar by any means.

“For me, it just comes down to one guy has done the work and one guy being propped up by the accolades of what his relative has done. I understand he’s trying to carve out his own name in history, but facts are still facts. The jury’s still out on Umar. We don’t really know if he’s really that guy just yet.”

Sterling says his team has intricately broken down Nurmagomedov’s game, and he’s confident Dvalishvili will be able to shut him down.

“We know he’s good, we know he can fight, we know he’s dangerous on the ground if he gets to your back,” Sterling said. “We know he’s got dynamic striking, we know he’s hard to hit cleanly, we do know he’s been dropped before by a debut guy, (Bekzat Almakhan). We do know his striking – he’s southpaw, he switches, he has a really good long front kick to the face, a nice question mark kick.

“How many of those strikes did he actually get off on Cory Sandhagen in Rounds 1, 2, 3 before Sandhagen started to slow down and get noticeably tired? So, there’s a lot of things we really paid attention to when we were breaking down the film. … I think this is going to come down to pressure. I think Merab is going to put the pressure on him, and I think good things are going to happen.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.

UFC 311 ‘Embedded,’ No. 3: Tsarukyan gets all mixed up with Clippers, Hill-Prochazka come original at run-in

Lightweight title challenger Arman Tsarukyan heads to a Clippers game and gets a custom jersey ahead of UFC 311 in Los Angeles.

The UFC is back in Southern California for UFC 311, its first pay-per-view of the calendar. year, and the popular “Embedded” fight week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.

UFC 311 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

In the headliner, bantamweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) puts his title on the line in a rematch against top contender [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC). In the co-feature, bantamweight champ [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) is an underdog in his first title defense against Makhachev’s teammate, unbeaten challenger [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).

The third episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:

Champ Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov finish camp and head to Los Angeles; Arman Tsarukyan has cold therapy before going to the LA Clippers game; Jamahal Hill records his podcast; Jiri Prochazka trains at the PI; Champ Merab Dvalishvili starts the drive to Los Angeles.

Previous UFC 311 ‘Embedded’ episodes

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.