Tag: Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling, Dana White tell different stories about UFC 296 tickets issue

Aljamain Sterling is confused why he was denied entry to UFC 296, and Dana White’s explanation didn’t help clear anything up for him.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] is confused why he was denied entry to UFC 296.

The former UFC bantamweight champion posted on X that he found out his tickets for this past Saturday’s event in Las Vegas were pulled after he arrived at T-Mobile Arena.

Sterling later explained what happened.

“So, we go through this procedure, this channel, we put in our ticket request either the fighter themselves directly or your management,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I put in my request in about two-and-a-half weeks ago for two events; the Apex last weekend, Chris Gutierrez vs. Song Yadong, and for UFC 296 confirmed.

“Got the tickets for obviously the Apex and then this one I’m kind of assuming the same because it was already confirmed to me. So, I’m not trying to fan the flames. I think somewhere there was a little bit of a disconnect.”

Dana White was asked what happened during the UFC 296 post-fight news conference. He said that Sterling’s tickets were through a sponsor.

“Well, they were tickets that – he was with a sponsor,” White said. “I don’t know how they got pulled or what happened, but the team reached right out to him and he was like, ‘Yeah, never mind, I’m good, I’m going to leave.'”

“The Funkmaster” denied that claim.

“The only thing I didn’t really understand is someone sent me the clip of, I guess, Dana saying that the tickets were through a sponsor,” Sterling said. “I don’t know what that was about because I’ve never had tickets from a sponsor for any of the UFC fights. I always go through the same exact channels every single time.”

Sterling is currently gearing up for his featherweight debut. Initially wanting former champion Max Holloway, he’s now zoning in on top contender Calvin Kattar, whom he sees as a more realistic option.

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Aljamain Sterling thinks Calvin Kattar a likely opponent for featherweight debut, but calls out an ex-champ, too

Aljamain Sterling is honing in on a possible opponent for his 145-pound debut.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] is honing in on a possible opponent for his 145-pound debut.

Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) plans on moving up to featherweight for his next fight after losing his bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292.

“The Funkmaster” is targeting the upper echelon of the division right off the bat. He sees [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC), who’s on the cusp of returning from knee surgery, as his likely next opponent for UFC 299 on March 9.

“Realistic scenario is probably myself and Calvin Kattar,” Sterling told MMA Junkie on the World MMA Awards red carpet. “He’s the only one that doesn’t have a fight and has been out for a bit, as well. At this point, come March, I’m probably going to be out for a bit as well. So with that said, I think that’s going to be the fight.”

But if it were up to Sterling, he’d fight former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway (25-7 MMA, 21-7 UFC), who currently doesn’t have a fight booked.

“The Max Holloway fight would be a nice one – two former champions going at it,” Sterling said. “Max doesn’t really have much to do right now unless he’s going up to ’55. That’s still speculation.

“But if he gets bored … Max, ‘the best is Blessed’ but, ‘Funky’ has got something to say about that, as well. If you do decide to hang around at ’45, it would be an absolute honor to share the octagon with you.”

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Aljamain Sterling makes prediction for friend, teammate Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo at UFC 298

Aljamain Sterling sees Merab Dvalishvili outlasting Henry Cejudo at UFC 298.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] sees [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] outlasting [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] at UFC 298.

Sterling’s teammate Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) faces Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.

Former bantamweight champion Sterling’s most recent win came over Cejudo in a close five-round battle at UFC 288, so “The Funkmaster” has solid intel on both men. Sterling expects Dvalishvili’s pace and cardio to be too much for Cejudo.

“I think Henry Cejudo is going to be competitive for all of three to four minutes, maybe the whole first round,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “But after that, you’re going to start to see a significant dip in the output, and the confusion Henry is going to have, I think, if Merab stays dialed in and focuses on what he needs to do, doesn’t rush in, doesn’t make any mistakes.

“Cejudo does good with that karate stance. If you run in, he has a good right hand. … My early prediction for this is Merab Dvalishvili finishes Henry Cejudo in Round 3. I’m going to say TKO. Merab’s not really a submission guy. Actually, I’m not going to give it away, but Merab’s got some tricks.”

With both Cejudo and Dvalishvili possessing a strong grappling base, Sterling sees similar attributes between them on paper.

“It’s a very even fight when you look at the striking, when you look at what both these guys do well, when you look at things that they struggle with,” Sterling said. “Henry doesn’t have to deal with a much taller person, but he had a tough time when he faced (Demetrious) ‘Mighty Mouse’ (Johnson) because he was a shorter person.

“Merab’s not shorter – he’s about the same height, but just a little bit taller – and I think that’s going to be a little bit difficult for him to work with that because Merab’s not the biggest bantamweight, but he hits like a bigger guy. I think Merab is going to shock the world and he’s going to shock Henry Cejudo come Feb. 17.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

FURY Pro Grappling 8 announced: Aljamain Sterling, 7 other UFC veterans to compete

The grappling series run by CFFC continues its tradition of a year-end event full of UFC notables.

FURY Pro Grappling’s tradition of a year-end card filled with UFC notables past and present continues.

Eight UFC veterans, including former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag], have been booked for the FURY Pro Grappling 8 lineup, the promotion announced Tuesday.

FURY Pro Grappling 8 takes place Dec. 30 at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia and streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Sterling will compete against [autotag]Kevin Dantzler[/autotag], a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who is 5-0 under the FURY Pro Grappling banner. Dantzer previously defeated Sterling’s friend and training partner Merab Dvalishvili at FURY Pro Grappling 2 in October 2021.

The co-feature is a big one, at least physically, as former UFC heavyweight [autotag]Chris Daukaus[/autotag] grapples current UFC heavyweight [autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag]. Also on the card are [autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag], [autotag]Kyle Daukaus[/autotag], [autotag]Niko Price[/autotag], [autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag], and [autotag]Charlie Campbell[/autotag].

The full FURY Pro Grappling 8 lineup includes:

  • Aljamain Sterling vs. Kevin Dantzler
  • Chris Daukaus vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Eryk Anders vs. Kyle Daukaus
  • Niko Price vs. Pat Sabatini
  • Amanda Mazza vs. Elyse Shaw
  • Fatima Kline vs. Cindy Ung
  • Charlie Campbell vs. Lee Moringo
  • Aidan Burke vs. Santo Curatolo
  • Paul Capaldo vs. Cameron Scalio

Aljamain Sterling: If I’m Cory Sandhagen, ‘I’d be kicking myself’

Aljamain Sterling thinks Cory Sandhagen could have avoided his unfortunate position in the title picture.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] could have avoided his unfortunate position in the title picture.

Sandhagen (17-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) is on a three-fight winning streak – including a recent dominant win over current title challenger Marlon Vera  this past March. Vera runs things back with bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley in the UFC 299 headliner on March 9.

In his most recent win over Rob Font at UFC on ESPN 50, Sandhagen tore his triceps in Round 1. He was originally scheduled to face Umar Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), and Sterling thinks Sandhagen took a risk by fighting short-notice replacement Font.

“If I’m Sandhagen, I’d be kicking myself,” Sterling told The Schmo. “Like damn, maybe I should have sat that one out and just waited and the doors would have opened up for me.”

Rumors emerged that the UFC plans on rebooking Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov after images of Dana White’s “War Room” were leaked – even though Sandhagen previously mentioned he has no desire to reschedule that fight.

“They’re giving him Umar, man,” Sterling said. “Unfortunately for him, it’s sh*tty because if he had not torn his tricep, he would be fighting Sean next. I still even think that’s weird because he beats Rob Font on short notice, should he leapfrog Merab (Dvalishvili), being that Merab is the No. 1 contender?”

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Sandhagen said the idea of fighting for the title upon his return shouldn’t be considered “outlandish,” and that he no longer sees upside in fighting unbeaten rising contender Nurmagomedov.

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Video: How would Aljamain Sterling fare against Max Holloway at featherweight?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” discusses the idea of Aljamain Sterling taking on Max Holloway at featherweight.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] may be heading to featherweight for a matchup against a former champion.

Sterling, a former bantamweight champion has been teasing a move to 145 pounds after losing his title to Sean O’Malley. Big fights are still on “Funk Master’s” radar, and sees a potential matchup against former featherweight champ [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] as a possibility.

What do we think of this potential matchup? Is there a better “big name” option for Sterling in his featherweight move?

Would Sterling’s grappling style translate well to the weight class, or would Holloway’s striking game be too much to handle?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” of Nolan King, Danny Segura and Brian “Goze” Garcia answered these questions with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

You can watch their discussion in the video above or check out this week’s full episode below on YouTube or in podcast form.

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After undergoing testing at UFC PI, Aljamain Sterling leaning towards featherweight move

Aljamain Sterling is on the verge of committing to a change in weight classes, and plans to debut against a top-ranked featherweight.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] is inching closer towards a featherweight move.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) teased a potential jump to 145 pounds before losing his title to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, and now he’s on the verge of seeing it through.

“The Funkmaster” recently underwent testing at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, and revealed that he’s been offered a fight with Calvin Kattar, among other names.

“Checking my weight, lean body mass vs. fat mass in my entire body, and I actually check out to be an average-sized featherweight,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “Which is crazy to me because every time I look at these featherweights, I think they’re so much bigger than me. It’s very interesting to see the numbers, see the data, see how my strength wracks up, my endurance.”

Sterling, who’s had a sizeable advantage over most bantamweights he’s faced, wanted to make sure his body was right before committing to changing divisions. He likes what he sees so far.

“It gave me a lot more comfort in where I’m at and making the move to 145,” Sterling continued. “But, I got one other thing I want to do this next week. As of right now, my mindset is definitely leaning towards 145, for featherweight. I wanna do one more round of testing on my own.

“Psychologically, I still feel like I need to be the biggest guy because that’s just what I did at bantamweight, what I’ve done as a wrestler. Psychologically, I need to make sure I’m going to be OK where I know that when I step in there, I feel comfortable, confident that I can win and I can compete with guys in that weight class.”

Sterling hopes to draw former champion Max Holloway in his featherweight debut. He took to social media to continue his pitch.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Czupjo2oTXW

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Why Aljamain Sterling likes Ilia Topuria’s chances vs. Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298

Aljamain Sterling worries about Alexander Volkanovski’s quick turnaround against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] worries about UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]’s quick turnaround vs. [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] at UFC 298.

After suffering a knockout loss to Islam Makhachev last month, Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) will make less than a four-month turnaround to defend his featherweight title against unbeaten Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the Feb. 17 headliner.

Having experienced a clean knockout loss before, Sterling advises Volkanovski to take more time off to recover. He sees a fight against a knockout artist like Topuria as a dangerous move.

“If he does make the walk for February, the way it sits right now, I do think we’re going to see an upset,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I hate to say it because it makes it seem like I’m going against Volkanovski, I’m doubting Volkanovski, but I’m not. What I’m saying is given the situation, I think now is the time for a hard-hitter, boxer who can actually grapple but just doesn’t grapple in Topuria, to get a guy like Volkanovski.

“He puts together better punching combinations. Volkanovski’s more pot shot here, here, here, and it’s like an accumulative damage that he does and then eventually he finds the finishing touches. But Topuria, when he hits you, he puts everything into those punches, into those body shots. I think if Volkanovski’s not the sharpest that he can be, which would have been before taking that Islam fight … but now I’m liking Topuria’s chances, and I have to lean on the side of the contender in this one.”

Volkanovski is widely considered as one of the greatest featherweights of all time. “The Great” has defended his title five times – twice against Max Holloway, Brian Ortega, Chan Sun Jung, and most recently Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

‘EA UFC 5’ rating release for best bantamweights: Sean O’Malley’s skills surge after title win

Check out the game ratings for the top five bantamweights in “EA UFC 5,” with champion Sean O’Malley taking the top spot.

With the release of the “EA UFC 5” video game rapidly approaching, fans are wondering who the highest-rated characters in each weight class will be.

MMA Junkie will have the answer to some of those unknowns, as ratings are being unveiled ahead of the Oct. 27 launch (with access on Oct. 24 with purchase of the Deluxe Edition) for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.

The countdown will begin with the bantamweight division, which is considered to be among the most stacked and talent-filled weight classes in the UFC.

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Check below for a countdown of the top five rated 135-pound fighters from “EA UFC 5,” who have their striking, grappling and health come together under a five-star system to create an overall rating out of five.

Aljamain Sterling responds to Daniel Cormier doubting him vs. Max Holloway: ‘I’ll show you guys what’s up’

That fact that Daniel Cormier thinks he’d struggle against Max Holloway really grinds Aljamain Sterling’s gears.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] is eager to prove doubters wrong in a potential move to featherweight.

Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) teased a move up to 145 pounds after losing his bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley by knockout at UFC 292 in August. He expressed interest in facing former champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] next, but [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] warned him against it.

Cormier thinks Sterling had a hard time with O’Malley’s length and would have even more trouble against Holloway (25-7 MMA, 21-7 UFC). No stranger to being undermined, Sterling is motivated to show that he can hang with Holloway.

“He (Cormier) was saying that he likes me, but he doesn’t think I should fight Max Holloway,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “That kind of makes me just want to go up right out of the gate and just call him out and say, ‘I want to show you guy’s what’s up.’ I know he said that if I struggled with O’Malley’s height and size – I’m like, but did I actually struggle? I made one mistake compared to the first round where mostly I was pretty disciplined.”

Sterling admits he bit on some of O’Malley’s fakes and lauded him for his movement. But without having to deplete himself to make 135 pounds, Sterling vows he’d be a different fighter at featherweight.

“To say I would struggle, that kind of gets me going,” Sterling said. “That kind of gets me wanting to be like, ‘OK, I’ll show you guys what’s up.’ I don’t think people really understand big-body Aljo, what he can do compared to scrawny but shredded Aljo. It’s just different man power. … Max is the man, bro. Max is the f*cking man. I go out and I beat the man, bro, come on. And I think it erases my mistake – not completely, but it erases my mistake.”

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