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Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is considering moving to the featherweight division and already has an opponent in mind for the potential shift.
Sterling lost his 135-pound title after succumbing to a second-round knockout against Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 292 in August. Heading into the fight, the 'Funk Master' had declared that the bout might signal his farewell in the bantamweight division. Citing challenges in weight cutting, Sterling expressed his intention to make a transition to the 145-pound category.
The 34-year-old American had eagerly expressed a desire to enter the octagon against either Max Holloway or Calvin Kattar for his debut featherweight match.
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Sterling disclosed his expected timeline for a return and also conveyed his preferred opponents:
"The realistic scenario is probably myself and Calvin Kattar. He's the only one, I think, who doesn't have a fight; he's been out for a bit as well. At this point, by March, I'm probably going to be out for a bit as well, so with that being said, that could be the fight."
He added:
"But a Max Holloway fight would be a nice one too. Two former champions going at it, Max doesn't really have much to do right now unless he's going to up to 155 pounds; that's just speculation, but if he gets busy, or, if I should say, if he gets bored, you know Max, the best is 'Blessed' but you know the 'Funk' has something to say about that as well."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below:
How are fans responding to Aljamain Sterling's potential featherweight move?
Fans responded to Aljamain Sterling's potential leap into the featherweight division with a diverse range of reactions.
One wrote:
"I don't think he is going to fare well at 145.. we shall see"
Another commented:
"Doesn't want to fight a wrestler makes sense"
Check out some more reactions below:
"the 'Funk Master' will do good in featherweight"
"Holloway would absolutely cook Aljo... just look at what O'Malley did to him. Max would absolutely kill him at 145"
"It's suicide man. You should fight below 11 [rank] for the first one."
"Brian Ortega is the matchup Aljo needs"
