Tag: Aljamain Sterling

Ex-UFC champ Aljamain Sterling books Polaris 25 grappling match with Nathaniel Wood

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling isn’t going to let the dust settle before he lights the competitive fires again.

Former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] isn’t going to let the dust settle before he lights the competitive fires again.

Sterling is set to take on fellow UFC fighter [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] – but in a grappling match later this month at Polaris 25. The promotion announced the booking Friday. Polaris 25 takes place Sept. 30 in Wales.

Sterling currently fights at 135 pounds. Wood has a longtime bantamweight who moved to featherweight a little more than a year ago.

Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) won the bantamweight title in March 2021 by disqualification against Petr Yan. After an injury layoff, he beat Yan again 13 months later. After title defenses against ex-champs T.J. Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo, Sterling ran into a problem.

At UFC 292 in mid-August, he was knocked out by Sean O’Malley in the second round. He lost the belt and had his nine-fight winning streak snapped. He has not yet announced if he’ll move up to featherweight or try to get a bantamweight title rematch.

Wood (20-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) lost to Casey Kenney in 2020. Then he moved from bantamweight to featherweight and it appears to have made a big difference, particularly when looking at his three straight wins against Charles Rosa, Charles Jourdain and Andre Fili.

Dana White: Aljamain Sterling’s public decisions ‘do not make him the most popular guy’ in UFC

Dana White insists Aljamain Sterling is a good dude but can’t understand why he shoots himself in the foot publicly.

LAS VEGAS – UFC president [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] insists that [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] keeps shooting himself in the foot in public.

After defending his bantamweight title a divisional record three times, Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) was dethroned by Sean O’Malley in a knockout loss at UFC 292. White and Sterling haven’t always been on the same page, with the UFC boss most recently criticizing teammates Sterling and Merab for refusing to fight each other.

Despite that, White said he gets along with Sterling just fine but can’t help but question some of the things he says in public.

“Here’s the thing with Sterling,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “I’ll tell you my personal experience: When you sit down with Aljamain one on one and whatever, he’s a great guy. He’s a great kid, very likable and everything else. Decisions he makes in public and things that he says in public do not make him the most popular guy on the roster.

“It’s the weirdest thing, I don’t know if it’s self-sabotage or what it is. He always seems to say the wrong things. In times when, if he even said remotely close to the right things, people would love him. Kid’s a good-looking kid; he’s got a great physique. When you sit down with him one on one, he’s a good kid. But in public, he just can’t help himself.”

In conclusion, White did have some nice things to say about Sterling’s title reign.

“He’s done pretty well without my advice,” White said. “I mean, look at what the kid’s accomplished. He’s made a lot of money, and you know how I feel about the whole, ‘Me and Merab are friends’ bullsh*t, but that’s it. I don’t dislike Aljo. Like I said, one on one, he’s a good dude.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 61.

Daniel Cormier: Merab Dvalishvili’s refusal to fight Aljamain Sterling might be about more than friendship

Based on his own experience, Daniel Cormier said Merab Dvalishvili may have another reason to avoid a fight with teammate Aljamain Sterling.

Based on his own experience, [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] said [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] may have another reason to avoid a fight with teammate [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag].

No. 1 contender Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) made it clear that he won’t fight his good friend and teammate Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) – even if it means he won’t get a title shot. His mentality drew criticism from UFC president Dana White.

Having competed in the same weight class as his teammate Cain Velasquez before, Cormier understands Dvalishvili’s loyalty. Cormier dropped down to light heavyweight to avoid facing Velasquez, but thinks there’s likely more to Dvalishvili not wanting to fight Sterling.

“Merab is saying, ‘I don’t want to be fighting my friend,'” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I will also tell you this: Part of the reason I didn’t want o fight Cain Velasquez was because I knew what happened in the gym every day. So the question is, how is Merab doing with Aljo to know he doesn’t really want to fight this guy?

“The friendship is obviously No. 1. But also, you know in training with that guy how tough it would be to get a victory over him – if possible at all. Generally, the guy that doesn’t want the fight is the guy that is not the champion. In this case, that’s Merab Dvalishvili.”

Even though Sterling lost his bantamweight belt to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, Dvalishvili says he’s only going to call for a title shot if the promotion opts against an O’Malley vs. Sterling rematch – and Sterling is also on the same page as Dvalishvili.

“Every UFC win since my 1st in 2018 I called out @SugaSeanMMA @ufc and Sean ignored my call outs.I say I don’t want to fight my teammate and brother @funkmasterMMA and the media goes crazy! If there is no immediate rematch I am Number 1 for this Title match.There should be NO question.”

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Aljamain Sterling: Merab Dvalishvili should get title shot if I don’t get immediate rematch vs. Sean O’Malley

Aljamain Sterling wants Merab Dvalishvili to get a title if the UFC doesn’t offer him an immediate rematch against Sean O’Malley.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] is adamant about wanting to get an immediate rematch against [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag], but if he doesn’t get it, he wants to see [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] get his shot.

Sterling lost his UFC bantamweight title to O’Malley last month in the main event of UFC 292. The TKO loss snapped a run of three title defenses and a nine-fight winning streak.

“I think if I don’t get the immediate rematch, and I don’t want to fight if they offer me the immediate rematch for December, I’m going to have to respectfully decline,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “But if they were to do it early next year, like in January or February, I would accept it in a heartbeat.

“But if I’m not going to get the rematch, the next guy in line has to be Merab Dvalishvili. He has to be. He’s the No. 1 contender. I don’t think any other matchup makes more scene than him. Clearly, the other guys that are on the sideline, they’re hurt. It’s going to be interesting to see what the UFC does, but I think that’s the most logical matchup.”

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Sterling wants another crack at O’Malley above anything else, but wouldn’t mind seeing his friend and teammate Dvalishvili get a title shot if the UFC doesn’t come calling – even if it could potentially mean a complicated road back to the belt.

“Of course, that would put me in limbo,” Sterling said. “People will be like, ‘Where does that leave you, Aljo? I don’t know. Maybe I stick around 135 and take a fight or two and then go to 145, or maybe I go straight to 145. It just really depends. Let’s just see how things shape up before we start jumping to conclusions and get all crazy.”

Sterling and Dvalishvili have made it clear that they’re not willing to fight each other. So if Dvalishvili were to get the next shot and beat O’Malley, this could eliminate Sterling’s chances at fighting for the belt once again.

Regardless, Sterling thinks Dvalishvili poses interesting questions for O’Malley, and he’d very much like to see that matchup.

“I think it’s another interesting matchup against a guy that can get takedowns over and over and over again and exhaust his opponents,” Sterling said. “Look what he did with Yan and look how the fight with Yan and O’Malley went. Obviously, look at my fight against Sean until it was over. It leaves a lot of interesting questions to be answered. I think it would be a great opportunity for Merab to get a title shot and to become the first Georgian champion. It would be huge for his country and huge for our team.”

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Dana White lambasts Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili for putting friendship above UFC title aspirations

UFC boss Dana White made it clear that he hates the way Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili are going about a potential title shot.

To say UFC president Dana White isn’t a fan of [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]’s and [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]’s attitude toward the next bantamweight title shot would be an understatement.

He hates it.

Sterling lost the 135-pound championship to Sean O’Malley less than two weeks ago when he was TKO’d in the second round of their UFC 292 main event. Since then, neither Sterling nor Dvalishvili, who are teammates on Serra-Longo Fight Team, has been adamant about wanting the next title shot for himself. In fact, it’s been the opposite.

Sterling has a legitimate case for an immediate rematch after making more consecutive title defenses (three) than any other UFC bantamweight champion, but he’s admitted the timing matters, which is why he believes Dvalishvili should be the next challenger. Dvalishvili’s case is supported by a No. 2 official ranking at 135 pounds and a nine-fight winning streak, but he’s shown respect to Sterling by saying he’d wait until after an O’Malley-Sterling rematch.

The fact that both Sterling and Dvalishvili are willing to put their friendship ahead of UFC title aspirations is something that White hates to see.

“Everybody in this room and everybody that watches this video knows how I feel about this sh*t,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during the DWCS 60 post-event news conference. “Yeah, I hate it and if that’s – why did you even get into this sport if that’s your mentality in the way that you think? ‘I don’t even want the title. I don’t even want the championship. We’re friends, we’re this, we’re that.’

“This is not – you could be friends with everybody in this business. There’s a lot of nice people in this business. A lot of good people. This is not about friendship. This about finding out who the best in the world is. And if you don’t want to find out who the best in the world is, this is not the place for you. You should be somewhere else. There’s plenty of places to fight where they don’t give a sh*t what you do. Doesn’t work here.”

Sterling caught word of White’s message and responded in the comments of an MMA Junkie Instagram post.

“Give him the title shot then,” Sterling wrote, referring to Dvalishvili. “Either way, it’s a win for us.”

The situation surrounding Sterling and Dvalishvili will be moot – for the time being – if O’Malley’s first title defense ends up being a rematch with Marlon Vera, who’s coming off a unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292. “Chito” has been very vocal in calling for the rematch to take place in December, something O’Malley appears to want given his desire for revenge after losing to Vera by TKO in 2020.

Vera, who’s won five of his past six fights, is No. 6 in the official UFC bantamweight rankings.

UFC 292 fighter pay: Zhang Weili, Sean O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling top disclosed list – in that order

Check out the disclosed UFC 292 pay for Zhang Weili, Sean O’Malley, and Aljamain Sterling, per the Massachusetts athletic commission.

A dozen fighters who competed Aug. 19 at UFC 292 in Boston walked away with six-figure disclosed paydays, according to government documents.

UFC women’s strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] topped all disclosed amounts, pocketing over a half-million dollars ($520,000) for her successful title defense vs. [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] ($250,000). Headliners [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] and [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] each walked away with slightly less ($500,000) in terms of disclosed amounts.

The Massachusetts Division of Occupational Licensure released a full document of fighter bout agreements to MMA Junkie on Tuesday through a public records request. The amounts regulated by the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission (MSAC) do not include LOA (side letter) bonuses, sponsorships, or other locker room bonuses.

Check out what the 24 athletes who competed on the card earned in terms of disclosed payouts below.

Merab Dvalishvili wants title shot after O’Malley-Sterling rematch: ‘I’m just going to wait’

Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t plan to fight again unless it’s for the UFC title.

The path to the UFC bantamweight title just got more complicated for [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag], but that’s fine with him.

The streaking UFC bantamweight contender has been labeled by many as the No. 1 contender in the division and was expected to fight for the belt in the near future. However, things didn’t go according to plan this past Saturday, and now it looks like Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) will have to wait longer.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] was hoping to defend his belt against [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] at UFC 292 in Boston, and then move up to featherweight, leaving his friend and teammate with the opportunity to fight for the vacant belt. Unfortunately for Dvalishvili, Sterling was stopped by O’Malley, and it seems he’s out to get an immediate rematch.

Dvalishvili wants to see his friend get the opportunity. If the rematch does happen, the 32-year-old doesn’t want to fight any other contenders. Dvalishvili plans to wait for the next title shot.

“After Aljamain Sterling, I am the No. 1 contender. We all know that,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie. “I have a nine-fight winning streak and I beat two former champions back to back. I fought everybody who they put in front of me. … I think the right way is that Aljo comes back, beat O’Malley, get his belt back, and I think after that he may go up a weight class.

“If he vacates the belt and takes a vacation or something, I will fight for the belt with whoever will be next. Now, I don’t want to rush. I just don’t want any stupid fight, you know, because the fight doesn’t make sense. I don’t want to fight somebody that has a loss. What does this fight get me?

“I want to fight the top guys. I don’t want to test, I’m tested already. I proved it. My last opponents I dominated. … I’m the next guy after Aljo. So a good way would be to give Aljo a rematch and after that, I’m just going to wait for my title fight, and we’ll figure it out after. But I’m just going to fight for the title next – even if I have to wait a year or more.”

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Dvalishvili hasn’t lost since suffering a technical submission loss to Ricky Simon in his second UFC fight back in 2018. Since, has picked up nine consecutive victories, defeating notable names such as Jose Aldo, Marlon Moraes, John Dodson, and Brad Katona.

“The Machine” last competed in March, when he dominated former champion Petr Yan in a unanimous decision. Dvalishvili has been recovering from a hand surgery since.

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Sean O’Malley’s coach: Aljamain Sterling knockout ‘might have put a little fear in Merab Dvalishvili’

Tim Welch thinks Sean O’Malley’s knockout of Aljamain Sterling put the division on notice – especially Merab Dvalishvili.

Tim Welch thinks [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]’s knockout of [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] put the division on notice – especially [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag].

O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) dropped and stopped Dvalishvili’s teammate Sterling in Round 2 to claim the bantamweight title in this past Saturday’s UFC 292 headliner at TD Garden in Boston.

The general notion was that O’Malley was not going to be able to handle Sterling’s wrestling, but “The Sugar Show” fended off Sterling’s lone two takedown attempts. Welch thinks O’Malley’s performance definitely got the attention of top contender Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC), who attempted a record 49 takedowns in his past outing against Petr Yan.

“I think if you’ve got a real special striker, like someone like (Israel Adesanya) or (Alexander Volkanovski) or these guys, they see Sean and they’re like, ‘Wow, he is a problem,'” Welch told Submission Radio. “But then you have stupid people like Henry Cejudo that think they’re just going to go in there and kick his legs and they’re going to take him down easy, and that’s all you’ve got to do is just kick his legs and pressure him.

“And then, I think Merab, too – I think that might have put a little fear in Merab because Merab makes a lot of those mistakes, too. Yes, he’s got a scary, scary gas tank. He’s going to come forward the whole time. But he reaches and he does a lot of bad stuff fundamentally, too. If that fight happens eventually, he’ll probably knock Merab out, too. But I think to actual skilled fighters that can see it, they see how dangerous he is.”

Dvalishvili was outraged at Marc Goddard’s stoppage of O’Malley vs. Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC), taking aim at the renowned referee. But Welch says Goddard protected Sterling from inevitable extra damage.

“I saw all the reactions, but I didn’t see the reaction from Aljo,” Welch said. “I don’t know if he said it was stopped early, but he didn’t seem to be complaining at all when that ref pulled him off Sean. He seemed to be like, f*ck, thank God that’s over. And you saw what happened to Thomas Almeida.

“Thomas Almeida took some serious brain damage – got a lot of swelling in his brain, and he’s probably got CTE from that fight. If they would have kept it going, who knows – he could have got knocked out cold worse than (against) Marlon Moraes, and that would have been a bad, bad night. It was a good job by the ref, in my opinion.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Demetrious Johnson: Sean O’Malley a ‘way tougher’ fight than Aljamain Sterling

Demetrious Johnson thinks he’d have a much harder time against Sean O’Malley than he would Aljamain Sterling.

ONE flyweight champion [autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] thinks he’d have a much harder time against [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] than [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag].

O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) claimed the bantamweight title when he TKO’d Sterling in this past Saturday’s UFC 292 headliner at TD Garden in Boston.

O’Malley was sharp, precise and able to fend off Sterling’s grappling for the most part. Johnson is widely considered one of the greatest fighters of all time but was humble in his assessment of how a potential fight with O’Malley would go if it happened now.

“Dude, me vs. O’Malley, that would be a hard-ass fight,” Johnson said on his MIGHTYcast podcast. “A very, very hard fight. There’s a guy in our gym … he moves just like ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley. He’s long, skinny, rangy, moves, that karate background, spinning back kicks, tries to land that right hand. I have a hard time with him in the gym, just because I’m trying to cross distance the whole entire time.

“But when I finally do cross that distance, I have my clinch game, I have my jiu-jitsu, I have my wrestling is where I actually think I might be able to excel against ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley. But I have to be a realist. Trying to get to him, where he’s much longer, he might even be faster than me now that I’m old as sh*t compared to some people out there being 37 years old. He’s longer, he’s faster, he’s a way cleaner striker than I am. It would be so hard just to get to him.”

When Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) was champion, he said Johnson, a former UFC flyweight champion, would be too small to fight him. Johnson fired back saying he’d destroy Sterling in the clinch and thinks O’Malley would pose a lot more threats to him.

“That would be a way tougher fight than fighting Aljamain Sterling,” Johnson continued. “When I see Aljo, I’m like, I like that fight because he likes to come forward, he loves to cross distance. Maybe he doesn’t do it very good – excuse me, he does it good, but he exposes his chin like we saw the other night. But that fight against ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley, I’m a realist, that would be a very, very extreme fight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Video: Answering the complicated ‘what’s next’ for Aljamain Sterling after UFC 292 title loss

Aljamain Sterling finds himself in a tough position coming out of UFC 292. 

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] finds himself in a tough position coming out of UFC 292.

Sterling lost the bantamweight championship this past Saturday in Boston where Sean O’Malley caught him with a counter right hand and won by second-round TKO to end his title reign after more than two years.

Heading into UFC 292, Sterling talked about leaving the division and moving up to featherweight to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for a second UFC belt, which would clear the way for good friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili to fight for 135-pound gold. But after the loss, Sterling questioned moving up considering how O’Malley dropped him.

It’s a complicated question given the circumstances, but what’s next for Sterling after the loss? Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Nolan King and Brian “Goze” Garcia answered that question with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.