UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili has confirmed that he’s considering a move down to the flyweight division if he defeats Marlon Moraes. Dvalishvili, who has only ever fought at bantamweight and featherweight, has built a six-fight winning strea…
UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili has confirmed that he’s considering a move down to the flyweight division if he defeats Marlon Moraes. Dvalishvili, who has only ever fought at bantamweight and featherweight, has built a six-fight winning streak in the UFC since losing his first two bouts in the promotion. Three wins in 2020 brought the […]
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks that the way that newly-crowned UFC bantamweight title holder Aljamain Sterling earned the belt would not be his preferred method to get the belt. Nurmagomedov has been retired from the UFC for a little under a year, but still pays close attention to the sport he used to […]
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks that the way that newly-crowned UFC bantamweight title holder Aljamain Sterling earned the belt would not be his preferred method to get the belt.
Nurmagomedov has been retired from the UFC for a little under a year, but still pays close attention to the sport he used to dominate at the highest level. He opted to leave the sport following his most recent win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October.
Sterling has been the target of criticism around the MMA community for how he’s handled getting the UFC belt. He earned the win over Petr Yan at UFC 259 in Round 4 by disqualification, after Yan landed an illegal knee to a grounded Sterling in a fight that the incumbent champion had dominated for a good portion of the bout.
Nurmagomedov recently sat down for an interview with UFC Russia, and weighed in on the drama surrounding Yan vs. Sterling and whether or not he sees Sterling as a legitimate champion.
“Well, I would not prefer to become a champion the way [Aljamain] Sterling did,” Nurmagomedov said. “I think he understands it, and his people do, but they try to support him, and I understand them. I would not like to be the champion who almost lost and won his belt just because his opponent broke the rules.”
“If Petr [Yan] properly does his homework, he will benefit a lot from this. First of all, he needs to continue his training process and stay hungry and focused. I think he will be given a fight this year, or even a rematch, and he deserves it. Anyways, I think he needs it, and it will help him a lot. I hope he finds a way to use it for his own advantage.”
Sterling and Yan are widely expected to fight in title rematch later this year, as Sterling has taken some time off to recover from the injury he suffered in their first fight. The bantamweight title picture had been on hold since their first fight, and it’ll be a breath of fresh air to see those two finally get some sort of closure after their controversial first bout.
Do you agree with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s comments regarding Aljamain Sterling?
UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling has continued his Twitter war of words with former double-champ Henry Cejudo. Since retiring from the sport and relinquishing his bantamweight belt after defeating Dominick Cruz at UFC 250 last year, Cejudo h…
UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling has continued his Twitter war of words with former double-champ Henry Cejudo. Since retiring from the sport and relinquishing his bantamweight belt after defeating Dominick Cruz at UFC 250 last year, Cejudo hasn’t failed to maintain his presence in the bantamweight division. After making the transition from delivering hard-hitting finishes […]
The lack of love lost between top UFC bantamweights Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan is showing no signs of changing after yet another heated Twitter exchange. As fierce as their UFC 259 encounter was, the action in the cage that night is rivaled only by…
The lack of love lost between top UFC bantamweights Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan is showing no signs of changing after yet another heated Twitter exchange. As fierce as their UFC 259 encounter was, the action in the cage that night is rivaled only by the nonstop shots thrown at one another via social media […]
UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is adamant that the next time he meets former champ, Petr Yan, it will end with Sterling finishing the Russian. At UFC 259: B?achowicz vs. Adesanya, Aljamain Sterling captured the title in a very competitive …
UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is adamant that the next time he meets former champ, Petr Yan, it will end with Sterling finishing the Russian. At UFC 259: B?achowicz vs. Adesanya, Aljamain Sterling captured the title in a very competitive fight with Yan. However, mayhem ensued in the fourth round as Yan would land an […]
Aljamain Sterling is recovering and will be back training in full capacity soon. The current UFC bantamweight champion Sterling recently provided a quick little update on his recovery process via his Twitter stating that he will back to training 100% o…
Aljamain Sterling is recovering and will be back training in full capacity soon. The current UFC bantamweight champion Sterling recently provided a quick little update on his recovery process via his Twitter stating that he will back to training 100% on July 15th, ten days from now. Back in March, after his controversial title win […]