Sidelined from the Octagon since an August championship loss, former bantamweight kingpin, Aljamain Sterling appears confident in proving apparent doubters wrong of a planned featherweight move – immediately weighing up a clash with ex-champion, Max Holloway.
Sterling, a former undisputed bantamweight champion under the banner of the promotion, most recently headlined UFC 292 back in August in Boston, Massachusetts, suffering a second round TKO loss to rival, Sean O’Malley.
The defeat came as Sterling’s first as champion, having racked up a record-setting three successive successful title defenses, knocking back the trio of Petr Yan, and T.J. Dillashaw, as well as former two-division champion, Henry Cejudo.
Announcing plans for a featherweight move in search of a superfight with undisputed champion, Alexander Volkanovski before his title loss to Montana native, O’Malley, Uniondale wrestling ace, Sterling, has apparently been doubted about his ability to be successful a division higher.
Aljamain Sterling open to featherweight fight with Max Holloway next
However, according to the former champion, he would fancy his chances at the featherweight limit, including in an initial landing against former undisputed champion, Holloway.
“[Daniel Cormier] was saying that he likes me, but he doesn’t think I should fight Max Holloway,” Aljamain Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “That kind of just makes me want to go up right out of the gate and call him out and say, ‘I wanna show you guys what’s up.’ I know he [Cormier] said I struggled with O’Malley’s height and size, but I’m like, did I actually struggle? I made one mistake compared to the first round, where mostly I was disciplined.”
“To say I would struggle, that kinda gets me going,” Aljamain Sterling continued. “That kinda gets me wanting to be like, ‘Okay, 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 manpower. Max (Holloway) is the man, bro. Max is the f*cking man. I go out there and beat the man, bro, come on. And I think it erases my mistake – not completely.” (H/T MMANews)
Would you like to see Aljamain Sterling fight Max Holloway in his featherweight debut?