Aljamain Sterling reveals the medical diagnosis that prevents him from competing in New York

UFC champion Aljamain Sterling has spoken candidly about the medical diagnosis that means he cannot compete in the state of New York.

This weekend, Aljamain Sterling returns to action. He’ll step into the Octagon to defend his UFC bantamweight championship against Henry Cejudo, a man he’s been feuding with for over two years now.

For many, he’s the favorite in this contest. For others, though, he still has a lot to prove given the way his title reign has gone thus far.

In addition to that, he’s also had a lot of injuries to deal with. It’s something that has plagued him at various points and, more than likely will continue to do so.

In a recent interview, Sterling actually revealed that there’s a medical reason behind why he can’t compete in New York.

Aljamain Sterling on why he can't compete in New York.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/SMMu29Wzj6

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 1, 2023

“When I made my UFC debut, February 22, 2014, — I’m a vet man! — at UFC 170, the Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann card, I believe,” Sterling said. “I had to get a CAT scan, first time ever getting a CAT scan. They found two spots on my brain, they were like a millimeter or something like that. But, it looked like there was trauma, and they weren’t sure what it was. I forget the exact term, aneurism or angioma or something like that.”

Sterling’s New York problem

“In order for me to be cleared, I would’ve had to like go take it out of my head. So, I wasn’t sure if I needed to get like drilled in my head to pull these things out. So they monitored it, they allowed me to fight in Nevada … a couple years after they realized, nothing was happening. They were like, ‘Okay, you’re safe. You’re not bleeding out, you’re not going to die in the cage.’ Knock on wood!

So things were good, and I was allowed to compete in Nevada and all the other states except New York.”

Quotes via MMA Mania

Will Aljamain Sterling beat Henry Cejudo at UFC 288? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!