Welcome to the big time, Aljamain Sterling.
There were glimmers of his potential before, but never had they been converted so kinetically as they were Saturday night at UFC on Fox 15. Sterling pushed the pace against a respected and successful UFC veteran in Takeya Mizugaki, never giving the more seasoned fighter the space to initiate his offense.
In the clinch, with takedowns and finally on the ground, Sterling smothered the will to compete out of Mizugaki and finally locked up the win with an arm-triangle choke from bottom position—a feat that requires major amounts of skill and strength, as evidenced by its near-unprecedented nature in UFC history.
Aljamain Sterling is the first fighter in UFC history to earn an arm triangle submission from the bottom. #UFCNewark
— Michael Carroll (@MJCflipdascript) April 18, 2015
Despite what you may read, Sterling’s was not the first arm triangle from the bottom in UFC history. pic.twitter.com/1bjbTSCe97
— Jonathan Snowden (@mmaencyclopedia) April 18, 2015
Either way, that’s impressive stuff, and it moved Sterling to 11-0 as a pro, including a 3-0 mark in the UFC. He is no longer a prospect. What might the future hold for the fast-rising 25-year-old bantamweight? Here are three possibilities.
Raphael Assuncao
Assuncao has been out since December with an ankle injury, but it doesn’t take a ton of imagination to picture him returning before too long. Assuming that’s the case, the bantamweight contender would be a huge test for Sterling, not to mention a terrific potential grappling match for fans.
Assuncao has a jiu-jitsu black belt, 10 submission wins and an impressive seven-fight win streak (including wins over foes like reigning champ T.J. Dillashaw) to his name. Should it be made, the winner between these two would have a fast elevator toward the divisional penthouse.
Urijah Faber
Faber is currently engaged to face Frankie Edgar in a special featherweight fight in May in Japan. But competing at 145 pounds appears to be a one-off situation for Faber; until this fight, he’s been exclusively a bantamweight for the past four years.
Faber is still dangerous at age 35, but it’s possible he’s not the near-invincible lion he once was. Father Time is undefeated, and Faber would be a huge name on Sterling’s resume—one that could help begin the torch-passing process at 135.
Johnny Eduardo
He may not have the cache or the bona fides of the first two competitors, but that doesn’t change the fact that Eduardo is perhaps the best striker in the UFC bantamweight division right now.
The 36-year-old veteran is 27-9 and 2-1 since migrating to the Octagon. His only UFC loss thus far came to Assuncao, and in his last fight, Eduardo earned his first post-fight UFC bonus by knocking the tough-as-nails Eddie Wineland out cold.
For fans, this would be a classic striker-grappler matchup. Sterling’s pressure-fighting and ground skills would be matched well against Eduardo’s excellent boxing. This would be a perfect undercard headliner or pay-per-view opener.
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter.
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