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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues to book mixed martial arts (MMA) fight cards for everything past next month’s UFC 249 pay-per-view (PPV) event, despite an uncertain future in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
That includes the upcoming “Fight Night” event scheduled for Sat., May 16, 2020 inside Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Calif., an ESPN+ card that is expected to be headlined by the lightweight showdown between Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker.
And while top 135-pound contender, Aljamain Sterling, has been reportedly paired off against fellow bantamweight bruiser, Cory Sandhagen, “Funkmaster” insists nothing is official at this time, particularly with the combat sports world in limbo.
“We’ve spoken about a few different opponents,” Sterling wrote on Twitter. “As far as I know there is no fight announcement. Especially with all this chaos happening. I don’t even have access to my gym anymore. It’s been a complete ban for everyone and you guys think I’m taking a fight? Yeah, okay.”
Sterling (18-3) has captured four straight and six of his last seven. “Funk Master” was last seen taking a unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 238 last June. The only knock on Sterling is that he’s secured just one finish dating back to late 2015.
As for Sandhagen (12-1), he was expected to fight Frankie Edgar at UFC Raleigh back in January, until “Korean Zombie” pulled rank in Busan. The Coloradan is 5-0 inside the Octagon with three nasty finishes and most recently competed against Raphael Assuncao last August.
Sterling is currently the No. 2-ranked bantamweight in the world against No. 4 for Sandhagen.