Aljamain Sterling is already moving on from the idea of a Max Holloway match up at Featherweight.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion has vocalized in recent months that his time in the weight class is coming to an end. Featherweight is in the immediate future for “Funk Master,” and he was hoping a clash with his fellow former titleholder, Holloway, would be his next.
Timing doesn’t appear to be aligning in the eyes of Sterling, who is now shifting his focus to a previously rumored pairing with another perennial contender, Calvin Kattar.
“I think I got a little bit of clarity today,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I spoke with my manager, my fiance, and we kind of went over some things and scenarios. One of the things we realized is maybe the Max fight isn’t gonna come to fruition. At this point, I just think he has bigger opportunities in the sense of whether or not he’s going up a weight class or the opportunity of if he were to wait to see what happens between [Ilia] Topuria and ‘Volk’ [Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February 2024]. It can completely open up a brand new door for him to go back to sitting on the throne.
“So, I guess you kinda gotta play chess at this point in both of our careers, and I would just imagine this fight doesn’t make a ton of sense to him right now,” he continued. “But whoever I do fight next in the 145-pound division, it might be Calvin Kattar. If you guys want to get a message out for me, respectfully. I don’t know, Calvin, we could do this, see when your knee is ready to go and much respect to you guys and your team. I think March or April would be cool. UFC 300 or maybe we could jump on that Miami card in March.”
Sterling’s last fight saw him lose for the first time since December 2017 when he suffered a rough first round knockout against Marlon Moraes. Tasked with a title defense opposite Sean O’Malley, Sterling fell short via a second round technical knockout at UFC 292 this past August 2023 (watch highlights). As for Kattar, the proud Bostonian’s next appearance will act as a return from a tough two-fight losing skid that last saw him suffer a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) against Arnold Allen at UFC Vegas 63 in October 2022 (watch highlights).