Latest news with #AljamainSterling
USA Today
09-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Aljamain Sterling would love to show Sean O'Malley a healthy version of himself in rematch
Aljamain Sterling would love to show Sean O'Malley a healthy version of himself in rematch Let the former champ rest. But I would absolutely LOVE to show him what a healthy version of myself would do. He's got great skills but I still know that was 50% version of myself. — Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) June 8, 2025 Aljamain Sterling is open to running things back with Sean O'Malley – at featherweight. O'Malley (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) lost to bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) for a second time when he was submitted in Saturday's UFC 316 headliner at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC), who lost his bantamweight title to O'Malley by knockout at UFC 292, is adamant that had he been 100 percent healthy, the fight would have gone a different way. Sterling faced O'Malley just three months after retaining his belt against Henry Cejudo in a five-round battle at UFC 288. "Let the former champ rest. But I would absolutely LOVE to show him what a healthy version of myself would do. He's got great skills but I still know that was 50% version of myself." Sterling just wants his fair shake. O'Malley entered his first fight against Dvalishvili at UFC 306 with a torn labrum in his hip, which required surgery. He was awarded an immediate rematch at UFC 316, but fell short once again. Sterling, who has since moved up to featherweight, thinks he was unjustly criticized when he spoke out about his injuries. "Weird, right? Somehow Sean gets a rematch after saying he wasn't 100%. Him and the company knew I wasn't 100% and I STILL gave him the opportunity to become champ. But it's 'coping' when I say it. Ppl are weird and bias. But if he doesn't plan to come up, then he can retire with the win, and I'm fine with that." Weird, right? Somehow Sean gets a rematch after saying he wasn't 100%. Him and the company knew I wasn't 100% and I STILL gave him the opportunity to become champ. But it's 'coping' when I say it. Ppl are weird and bias. But if he doesn't plan to come up, then he can retire with… — Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) June 8, 2025 Prior to UFC 316, O'Malley's head coach Tim Welch said that a potential move up to featherweight is "definitely possible" down the line. However, it is unknown what O'Malley's next move will be after losing to Dvalishvili in a title fight for the second-straight time.
USA Today
06-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Aljamain Sterling: Yair Rodriguez getting UFC featherweight title shot is 'crazy work'
Aljamain Sterling: Yair Rodriguez getting UFC featherweight title shot is 'crazy work' Aljamain Sterling is baffled by Yair Rodriguez being the potential next UFC title challenger. UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (27-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) confirmed the rumors that Rodriguez (19-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is in discussion to be the first title defense of his second reign, but nothing is official yet. Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC), who's coming off a unanimous decision loss to Movsar Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) at UFC 310, thinks his past opponent was snubbed out of a title shot. Rodriguez snapped a two-fight losing skid by defeating former Bellator champion Patricio Freire at UFC 314. One of his two losses came in a title fight against Volkanovski at UFC 290. "If they give it to Yair, all respect to Yair, but that's crazy work," Sterling told Home of Fight. "But he's popular. ...I'm not the UFC, I don't run the company. These guys have all these metrics and things like that they follow to try to promote fights. I'm always the guy based on merit. I had to work my ass off. I've seen a lot of guys work their ass off and not get their fair shake. I almost didn't get a fair shake, and I had to claw tooth and nail just to get to a title shot. "It was lackluster to say the least, and I was able to redeem myself. It's just one of those things. You never know what the UFC is thinking, and what they think makes the most sense for their bottom line, and I get that. You get into this sport thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to work hard and if I win X, Y, and Z, then I'm going to get this opportunity,' and not everyone gets that fair shake so, it is what it is. Once you understand that, you can make peace with it. For '45, I thought it should have been Movsar." As for what's next for Sterling, the former UFC bantamweight champion thinks he was in the wrong end of the decision against Evloev. He hopes his next fight is a matchup which allows him to continue his ascent up the featherweight ladder. "I was hoping that I could maybe fight a Diego (Lopes) or Brian Ortega," Sterling continued. "Much love and respect to Brian. He's cool, but we're not like me and Merab (Dvalishvili), we're not training together. So, it's just one of those things where I'm up at the weight class. "Even Arnold Allen, even called out Lerone Murphy. I just want to fight someone where the fight means something. I won the belt, I'm no longer this up-and-comer unknown name so, I want to fight guys who actually mean something for my career. Not just helping a young fighter build their career."
The Independent
19-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Merab Dvalishvili's team to warn referee over controversial Sean O'Malley tactic
Merab Dvalishvili 's coach has said the bantamweight champion 's team will warn the referee ahead of UFC 316, as they aim to combat a controversial tactic used by Sean O'Malley's trainer. When O'Malley knocked out Aljamain Sterling to win the belt in 2023, the latter appeared to bite on a deceiving shout from 'Sugar Sean''s coach Tim Welch, who cried: 'Aljo, you've got to go!' Sterling might have believed it was his own coach shouting, but in any case, he closed range and was knocked out by O'Malley. Welch tried the same tactic when his fighter defended the gold against Dvalishvili in September, but he was unsuccessful in two senses; Welch was warned by referee Herb Dean, and Dvalishvili cruised to a decision win to become champion. At UFC 316 on 7 June, Dvalishvili looks to build upon January's successful defence against Umar Nurmagomedov, as he puts his belt on the line against O'Malley in New Jersey. And ahead of that rematch, the champion's head coach, John Wood, will make sure to speak to whichever referee is appointed. Wood told MMA Fighting on Monday (19 May): 'Of course we'll have that talk, of course it will be brought up. And I think Tim will do it again, but feel free to talk to Merab all you want; it just gave him more motivation, so I'm good. Tell Merab what you want him to do, and he'll go ahead and do it. 'It didn't work, it's not gonna work again. I've stated this before: whatever you think you've got to do to get your fighter up for the game, whatever you think you've got to do as a coach to try to take advantage, do it. As long as it's within the [rules]. I actually think that's a rule – you're not supposed to do that – but I mean, the old saying [is]: 'If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying.' 'I would never feel like I would have to talk to Sean or anybody else Merab's fighting to get an advantage, so go ahead, and if it gets you more hits or clicks on your podcast or TikTok or whatever those guys do, then great for you. He got a lot of play off that. 'I think Tim's a good coach, I like Tim personally, I don't take any offence to it. Do I think it's stupid? Absolutely, but I guess maybe they think it worked for the Aljo fight, so: 'It's something we're gonna keep on doing.' 'Go ahead. We'll talk to the referees about it, but I don't think it's going to be a problem in any way, shape or form.' Wood added: 'There's a lot of people that have had successful careers and cheated a lot. And I'm not saying that Tim's cheating; it's maybe bending the rules.' American O'Malley, 30, has not fought since losing the bantamweight belt to Dvalishvili at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, the latter's defence against Nurmagomedov saw the Georgian, 34, mount a stunning comeback. On two of the judges' scorecards, Dvalishvili came from two rounds down to win the final three against Nurmagomedov, while the third card also awarded the 'Machine' the first frame. With that, Dvalishvili extended his win streak to a remarkable 12 fights, dating back to 2018. When Dvalishvili and O'Malley clash again, it will be in one of two bantamweight title bouts at UFC 316; the co-main event sees Julianna Pena defend the women's 135lb belt against Kayla Harrison – a former PFL champion and Olympic gold-medalist judoka.
USA Today
17-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
T.J. Dillashaw admits he was 'delusionally optimistic' he'd knock out Aljamain Sterling
T.J. Dillashaw admits he was 'delusionally optimistic' he'd knock out Aljamain Sterling T.J. Dillashaw was adamant he could reclaim the UFC bantamweight title while compromised in what ended up being his final fight. Dillashaw (17-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) took a risk by going into his October 2022 title fight against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280 injured. The risk didn't pay off as his shoulder popped out during the fight, and he was finished by Round 2 TKO. The former two-time UFC bantamweight champion ended up retiring after lingering issues with his shoulder. In hindsight, many would have regretted taking that fight injured but not Dillashaw. "I was fighting a guy that I felt like I could still beat with the arm that I had," Dillashaw said on the "JAXXON Podcast." "I felt like I could have knocked him out. Yeah, dude, (with one arm). His striking is complete garbage." Dillashaw explains why he never considered pulling out. "I know I'm going to have to have shoulder surgery, so I'm going to be out for another year-and-a-half," Dillashaw said. "I'm 36 years old. It's kind of like, this might be my last f*cking shot. Ends up, yes, it was because my shoulder was so bad. So it's like, why am I going to pass up this opportunity? "Might be my last shot ever to be a three-time world champion, get my belt back. (The odds) were f*cking awesome. I'm delusionally optimistic, but I really believe that's also what got me to the belt. I believed in myself so much that I was able to push through so much negativity and get to the top."
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Aljamain Sterling: Bo Nickal should consider welterweight after UFC Des Moines loss
Aljamain Sterling thinks Bo Nickal is too small for the UFC middleweight division. Nickal (7-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) suffered his first career loss when he was stopped by Reinier de Ridder in Saturday's UFC on ESPN 67 co-main event at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Sterling, who also comes from a wrestling background, noticed that Nickal was overpowered by De Ridder, before he was folded from a body shot in Round 2. Sterling thinks the standout wrestler needs to drop down to welterweight. "I hate that I was right but the size disparity for Nickal at 185 is very apparent," Sterling said on X. I hate that I was right but the size disparity for Nickal at 185 is very apparent. — Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 4, 2025 Nickal revealed that he added on mass for this training camp which resulted in having to cut around 37 pounds entering fight week to make the non-title middleweight limit of 186 pounds. Although Nickal had a big weight cut, Sterling believes he could make 170 pounds. I wrestled 133 then 141. Somehow, I magically was able to make 135. Bonus a middleweight but the top 15 MWs are noticeably bigger than him in the cage. Even Brundage looked bigger. — Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 4, 2025 "I wrestled 133 then 141," Sterling said in another post on X. "Somehow, I magically was able to make 135. Bonus a middleweight but the top 15 MWs are noticeably bigger than him in the cage. Even Brundage looked bigger." UFC analyst Alan Jouban agreed with Sterling, and the former UFC bantamweight champion says Nickal needs to sit down with his American Top Team and seriously contemplate the potential move down. "Anyone saying otherwise needs to really have their eyes checked," Sterling said. "I'm a huge wrestling and Nickal fan, but that conversation needs to be had and it's not an easy choice by any means." Anyone saying otherwise needs to really have their eyes checked. I'm a huge wrestling and Nickal fan, but that conversation needs to be had and it's not an easy choice by any means. — Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 4, 2025 This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Des Moines: Aljamain Sterling has advice for Bo Nickal after loss
