Aljamain Sterling News

Drake Riggs - February 2, 2021

In the build-up to the long-awaited bantamweight showdown between champion Petr Yan and challenger Aljamain Sterling, there’s been no shortage of trash talk. However, things have gone a bit quieter on Sterling’s end in the eyes of Yan.

Adam Martin - January 28, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan says he is open to fighting TJ Dillashaw as long as the price is right and he doesn’t use PEDs. Yan is set to fight No. 1 contender Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 on March 13. While he has a tough fight coming up against “Funk Master,” Yan can’t help but look to what other challenges there are in the division. One of those is Dillashaw, the former UFC bantamweight champion. After two years away from the Octagon due to a USADA suspension, Dillashaw is now eligible to return to action, and UFC president Dana White recently confirmed that he could fight for the belt in his first fight back.

Adam Martin - January 8, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan re-opened as the betting favorite over Aljamain Sterling for their upcoming title bout at UFC 259. Yan and Sterling were previously slated to fight at UFC 256 in December, but the fight had to be rescheduled for March 6 at UFC 259. The betting odds for the contest previously opened with Yan as a -185 betting favorite and Sterling as a +160 betting underdog. Now that the betting odds have been released, Yan is still favored to win the bout, only not as much this time around. Check out the opening odds for UFC 259’s Yan vs. Sterling (via BestFightOdds).

Cole Shelton - January 7, 2021

Petr Yan will still look to defend his bantamweight title for the first time against Aljamain Sterling. According to MMAJunkie, Yan and Sterling will meet on March 6 at UFC 259 at a location TBD. The bout is also the third title fight on the card.

Adam D Martin - December 20, 2020

UFC bantamweight Aljamain Sterling responded to TJ Dillashaw’s claim that everyone is calling him out “cause they all know that’s my belt.” Dillashaw, the former UFC bantamweight champion, has not fought since January 2019 after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs and being suspended for two years. With Dillashaw’s suspension up next month, he has become a popular target for other top fighters at 135lbs to call out. One of those fighters was former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, who called Dillashaw out following his decision win over Marlon Vera at UFC Vegas 17, a callout that Dillashaw responded to on his Twitter.

Harry Kettle - December 11, 2020

Former two-weight UFC champion Henry Cejudo has taken a shot at bantamweight rivals Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling. While he may officially be retired from mixed martial arts, Cejudo is never too far away from the news cycle and is quite clearly interested in a return to the UFC one day. Whether or not that takes place at bantamweight, flyweight or featherweight, though, remains to be seen.

Adam Martin - December 3, 2020

UFC bantamweight Aljamain Sterling slammed “cheater” TJ Dillashaw, suggesting that he could have found a way to dope during his long layoff. In January 2019, Dillashaw failed a drug test for EPO and was suspended for two years. He also lost the UFC bantamweight title in the process. After two long years away from the Octagon, Dillashaw is now ready to resume his MMA career next month. The former two-time UFC bantamweight champion does not have his next opponent booked yet, but after speaking with ESPN during a Thursday interview, it’s clear that he has his sights set high.

Cole Shelton - November 23, 2020

Petr Yan has explained why he won’t be fighting Aljamain Sterling on Dec. 12 at UFC 256. Yan and Sterling were set to headline the year-end pay-per-view but on Sunday it was revealed the fight was off.

Adam Martin - November 22, 2020

The upcoming main event at UFC 256 between UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling has reportedly been postponed until 2021. Yan vs. Sterling was set to headline UFC 256 on December 12 in Las Vegas in the wake of an injury to UFC women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes, whose title defense against Megan Anderson fell apart. However, it looks like Yan and Sterling won’t get a chance to fight before the year is up. According to Russian news outlet TASS, Yan vs. Sterling is reportedly off of UFC 256 and the fight has been postponed until 2021.

Adam Martin - November 9, 2020

UFC bantamweight Aljamain Sterling wants to fight Petr Yan in the UFC 256 main event after Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson was scrapped. Nunes vs. Anderson for the UFC women’s featherweight title was set to headline UFC 256, which takes place on December 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, that fight has now been scrapped and the card needs a new main event. With Nunes vs. Anderson scratched, Sterling — who was set to take on UFC bantamweight champion Yan in the co-main event — is now stumping to take over the main event slot of the card.

Cole Shelton - November 4, 2020

Petr Yan is confident he will defend his bantamweight title against Aljamain Sterling and will do so in devastating fashion. In the co-main event of UFC 256, Yan and Sterling will finally get the chance to share the Octagon. Heading into the fight, many pundits are split on who will win, but for the Russian, he plans on making Sterling be knocked out cold like Jorge Masvidal did to Ben Askren.

Tom Taylor - November 2, 2020

UFC bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling has taken a stand against the mandatory mask mandates currently in place in the United States. Over the weekend, after a decision win over Andre Fili at UFC Vegas 12, UFC featherweight contender Bryce Mitchell voiced his disapproval of mandatory mask rules. Shortly thereafter, in a series of posts to his Instagram story, Sterling through his support behind Mitchell’s comments.

Tom Taylor - October 14, 2020

Petr Yan is set to make his first defense of the UFC bantamweight title opposite Aljamain Sterling in the co-main event of UFC 256. UFC President Dana White announced this exciting news in an interview with Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports. He also confirmed that Amanda Nunes’ featherweight title defense against Megan Anderson will serve as the card’s main event.

Tom Taylor - October 12, 2020

Cory Sandhagen’s win over Marlon Moraes sparked a heated Twitter skirmish between bantamweight champ Petr Yan and the division’s top contender, Aljamain Sterling. Sandhagen took on Moraes in a crucial bantamweight contender bout in the main event of UFC Fight Island 5 last Saturday, picking up the win with flashy second-round TKO. With this victory, he rebounded from a submission loss to Sterling, who is expected to get the next crack at the division’s reigning champion, Yan.

Harry Kettle - October 7, 2020

UFC bantamweight Aljamain Sterling is staying ready in case he gets the all for a title shot against Petr Yan in December. Sterling has built up a five-fight winning streak in the last few years with his latest victory being a decisive and impressive submission win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC 250 earlier this year. One month later, at UFC 251, Petr Yan reached the pinnacle of the 135-pound division when he defeated Jose Aldo to claim the vacant Bantamweight Championship.

Tom Taylor - August 31, 2020

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw is optimistic he’ll reclaim the division’s title, but Aljamain Sterling isn’t buying it. Dillashaw reigned over the UFC bantamweight division from late 2017 to early 2019. After a loss to Henry Cejudo at flyweight, however, he tested positive for the banned substance EPO, vacated his title, and was suspended by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Adam D Martin - August 23, 2020

UFC bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling reacted after UFC president Dana White finally confirmed he’s next in line to fight Petr Yan. When Sterling submitted Cory Sandhagen in the first round back at UFC 250 in June to up his win streak to five straight fights, most fans and media assumed that he would be next in line to fight for the title. But after Yan defeated Jose Aldo at UFC 251 via fifth-round TKO to win the vacant title, White was singing a different tune and was non-committal to giving Sterling his title shot. That led to Sterling taking to Twitter to vent his frustrations.

Tom Taylor - August 13, 2020

Aljamain Sterling hopes UFC President Dana White will “do the right thing” and grant him a title shot against UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan. Sterling is riding a five-fight win-streak, having most recently picked up an impressive, first-round submission victory over fellow contender Cory Sandhagen. While this victory seemed like it would be enough to earn him a crack at the new bantamweight champion, Yan, White has been noncommittal on the issue.