Aljamain Sterling hints he'd only need to cut 20lbs to step in for scrapped featherweight bout

Aljamain Sterling recently revealed that he's only 20 pounds away from being eligible to make his featherweight debut. After Josh Emmett reported that Giga Chikadze was out of their 145-pound contest at UFC 296 earlier today, Sterling seemingly threw his name in the hat as a potential replacement fighter.

While fans eagerly looked forward to the Emmett-Chikadze bout, the Georgian was forced out of the fight after suffering a groin injury. Emmett soon took to social media and asked if any fighter was willing to step in as a replacement for the December 16 pay-per-view event.

It's no secret that Aljamain Sterling wants to compete as a featherweight next. The former bantamweight champion teased a move up to the 145-pound division before his last outing against Sean O'Malley at UFC 292.

While his plan was to defend the title and then vacate the championship to allow his teammate Merab Dvalishvili to get a title shot, O'Malley defeated Sterling via second-round knockout. Despite Sterling's calls for a rematch, 'Suga' is now set to rematch Marlon Vera at UFC 299, leaving 'Funk Master' no choice but to try moving up to featherweight.

Responding to Chikadze's injury withdrawal news, Aljamain Sterling took to X and revealed that he currently weighed 166.6 pounds, only 20 pounds (9.07 kilos) away from qualifying as a featherweight. He tweeted:

"I just weighed out at 166.6 lbs. #JustSaying #FeatherweightFunk."

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Daniel Cormier on potential Aljamain Sterling vs. Max Holloway fight

Daniel Cormier doesn't think Aljamain Sterling would do well against Max Holloway and wants the former UFC bantamweight champion to continue fighting in the 135-pound division.

Last week, Sterling named Holloway as his preferred featherweight opponent. 'Funk Master' pointed out that it would be a good stylistic matchup and wanted to test his wrestling pedigree against Holloway's renowned striking skills. While he admitted it would be a tough challenge, Sterling was confident about his chances against the former featherweight champion.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Daniel Cormier discussed Sterling's featherweight plans and explained why the 34-year-old should stay in the bantamweight division. He said:

"I think he should stay at 135. I think that's the right weight class for him... Those guys [145-pounders] are big. He's a bit of a tweener... I think Max is too big. He has a good chance at winning enough fights to work his way back to a title fight."