Aljamain Sterling Demands Featherweight Shot
Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling launched a public campaign demanding a featherweight title shot, calling his fellow featherweights "dumb" and vowing "I'm gonna prove them wrong again." Sterling is angling for a quick return to championship level in a new division. Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev's next fight is being teased as "one of the biggest fights UFC can make right now."
Aljamain Sterling's move to featherweight comes after a lengthy and record-setting reign as the UFC bantamweight champion. He lost the 135-pound title to Sean O'Malley in August 2023, ending a nine-fight winning streak. Sterling holds the record for the most consecutive bantamweight title defenses in UFC history with three. The decision to move up to the 145-pound division was something Sterling had considered for a while, citing an increasingly difficult weight cut to bantamweight. In his featherweight debut at the landmark UFC 300 event, he secured a unanimous decision victory over the highly-ranked and durable Calvin Kattar. Following that, he defeated Brian Ortega but then suffered a decision loss to Movsar Evloev. The featherweight division currently has a familiar champion in Alexander Volkanovski, who recently reclaimed the vacant title. The title became vacant after the previous champion, Ilia Topuria, moved up to the lightweight division. This turnover at the top of the division creates a landscape of contenders eager for their shot at the belt. Sterling is not the only fighter with a claim to a title shot. The featherweight rankings are populated with established names and rising contenders. Top-ranked fighters like former champion Max Holloway, Movsar Evloev, and Yair Rodriguez all represent significant hurdles for anyone aspiring to fight for the title.
