Morning Report: Aljamain Sterling would be 'very ecstatic' for Sean O'Malley rematch at featherweight

17/11/2023 14:19

Fights at featherweight appear to be inevitable for Aljamain Sterling.

The former UFC bantamweight champion Sterling has had his eyes on an eventual move up in weight since midway through his title reign from March 2021 to August 2023. Sterling successfully defended his crown three times and his longtime friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili continued to ascend the ranks alongside him. The pair have been public about never fighting each other, therefore, leaving Dvalishvili in limbo as the clear top contender.

Ideally, Sterling planned to get past Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 in August and move to featherweight so that Dvalishvili could get his deserved title opportunity. O'Malley instead spoiled those plans, dethroning Sterling by second-round TKO, and will make his first defense against Marlon "Chito" Vera at UFC 299 in March 2024. Sterling was originally hopeful about getting an immediate rematch with "Sugar," but now seems to be leaning back towards the idea of fighting at 145 pounds where he hopes to one day run things back with his previous successor.

"I just have a tough time making the weight although I do make it," Sterling said on his YouTube channel. "It's just never easy, and I never felt like I was big enough for 145, but we'll see. I did some testing and all things point to I should be making a switch over and if I do or have the success that I've had at 135, there's always the potential collision course between O'Malley and myself again at 145. I'd be very, very ecstatic to have that matchup again. Especially where I'm not rushed and I'm monitoring my training because I'm training around injuries that literally just happened from a fight I just had with one of the greatest of all time.

"It's annoying because when I talk about it, the real fans know, but I don't want it to come off like making excuses. That just annoys myself, but I would like to fight him on an even playing field."

Sterling entered his fight with O'Malley off a relatively quick turnaround for a champion, having defended against Henry Cejudo in May. The "Funk Master" won the bout via split decision but was open about some leg injuries he had immediately after the encounter.

The additional weight at featherweight leads Sterling to believe he'd physically feel a lot better and would be able to "actually eat" before training during camp. Before his winning streak ended at bantamweight, Sterling set the record in the division with nine straight wins, which is tied with the aforementioned Dvalishvili.

"If you look at my track record in the bantamweight division, a lot of those guys I fought and have beaten were almost all ranked within the top 10, top 5, or even top 15," Sterling said. "I just constantly since my third UFC fight, I've been fighting ranked opponents. There's a couple that weren't ranked when I lost twice in a row.

"I've built my name off the toughest competitors out there. I've been chasing a goal, chasing history, and [it's] something I'm gonna forever be proud of."

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FINAL THOUGHTS

It's kind of crazy how Sterling leaving bantamweight doesn't leave much of a void. The division is that stacked with talent. Hard to imagine him becoming champion at 145, but I think he can be a top contender.

Happy Friday, gang! Have a good and safe weekend. Thanks for reading!

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