Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling tipped the scale at 134.5 pounds for his title unification bout against Petr Yan ahead of the UFC 273 pay-per-view (PPV) card earlier this month in Jacksonville, Fla., but exactly one week after their five-round co-main event, “Funk Master” was unable to keep himself below the welterweight limit.
This “rock bottom” featherweight can relate.
“Look at this bantamweight,” Sterling wrote on social media after registering 176 pounds on his home scale. “That’s a sick, sick, man! Exactly one week after my fight. Wow. I am a bacon right now! Enjoying the fruits of my labor, but this is getting ridiculous. I feel fat and gross. My cheeks are so big. I don’t recognize myself. Diet starts tomorrow.”
If you’re keeping score, Thiago Alves once gained 30 pounds in just three hours.
Sterling unified the 135-pound titles after defeating Yan by split decision. No word yet on who “Funk Master” will fight in his bantamweight return, but a “No Mercy” trilogy is certainly on the table, along with a showdown against this “slimy little cheater.”
Assuming Jose Aldo is out of the running.
“I’m here for money,” Sterling told The MMA Hour. “I think all these guys, in my opinion, are relatively the same in terms of skill set, so I think if I had to pick, T.J.’s fine with me. If [Yan] wants to be 0-3 against ‘The Funk,’ we can make it happen. If you look at his record, two of those losses are from me, so if he wants a third, we can do it again.”
UFC is expected to make that decision over the next couple of weeks.