Aljamain Sterling's 'ideal plan' ends in retirement within four fights

Aljamain Sterling recently outlined his ideal plans for the remainder of his MMA career as he sees himself retiring after four more fights and in another weight-division.

While speaking to Megan Olivi ahead of his bout with Henry Cejudo at UFC 288, Sterling addressed his future at bantamweight and noted that it's only a matter of time before he moves up to featherweight. He mentioned that achieving double champion status is appealing to him.

He said:

"If I do that [two-division champion], the perfect scenario; I smash Henry [Cejudo], I smash [Sean] O'Malley, I go up to 145[lbs], I fight Volkanovski or Rodriguez, and maybe I defend the belt one time and then I'm done." [17:27 - 17:39]

'Funk Master' added that he doesn't want to overstay his welcome in the sport for the sake of fighting until somebody beats him. He mentioned that he wants to continue fighting against opponents that motivate him or one who fans think could beat him, saying:

"If I don't feel like there's something to prove then it doesn't really get me up and excited for it...I'm excited for it [fighting Cejudo]. At first, I thought no one cared about it, now I'm seeing that the fans are really behind it, they want to see this matchup, this think it's gonna be a good test...That's what gets me excited." [17:49 - 18:10]

It will be interesting to see how soon Sterling anticipates on moving to featherweight and if he will move up to 145lbs should he lose his bantamweight championship.

Check out the full video:

---

Aljamain Sterling believes a win over Henry Cejudo will put him in the bantamweight GOAT discussions

Aljamain Sterling has an opportunity to become the first UFC bantamweight champion to successfully retain his title should he defeat Henry Cejudo at UFC 288.

'Funk Master' uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he answered questions following his open workout at LAW MMA. He mentioned that he believes a win over another former champion could be a meaningful one for him at 135lbs in terms of the "greatest of all time" debate, saying:

"I get this done, I think it's gonna be a tough debate. You know, whether you want to consider modern MMA more valid than the olden ages, but you know, stats are stats, records are meant to be broken and we'll see what happens after this. I'll let the fans debate." [5:26 - 5:42]