One More Title Defense…Then Featherweight?

Aljamain Sterling will attempt to pick up his fourth consecutive defense of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight title this Saturday night (Aug., 19, 2023) when he takes on Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 292 inside TD Garden Arena in Boston, Mass. And it could very well be the last time we see him fighting at 135 pounds.

According to “Funkmaster,” cutting weight has become a bit more arduous as he gets older. Now 34, Sterling says in his younger days a tough weight cut didn’t have that much of an effect on his performances.

“I would just compete like just an animal, like an Energizer bunny for days.” he said on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting). “I kind of feel like I’m slowing down a little bit, and that comes with age.

That’s why the 135-pound champion says should he defeat “Suga” in “Beantown,” moving up to the Featherweight division will likely be the next move.

“This is more than likely my last fight at 135. There’s a 99 percent chance it’s my last. If I win this, for sure, I’m out of here.”

For Sterling, a shot at Alexander Volkanovski’s 145-pound title is the goal, but there simply is no telling if UFC matchmakers will grant him an immediate title shot in his divisional debut, though that’s usually the norm for champion’s vacating a title to go to another division.

Another reason for Sterling’s desire to move up is to allow his longtime friend and teammate, Merab Dvalishvili, to competed for the 135-pound strap. Dvalishvili is currently ranked No. 1 in the weight class and should be next in line for a title fight. But it won’t come against Sterling since they vowed to never fight one another.

Even if some think that’s a bad idea.

“It’s Merab’s time, man. And the second part of that is, I’m a little bit over cutting weight, this much weight. I walk around 165, 170 [pounds]. I think I could hold that frame relatively better, and I think my conditioning and everything could actually go up a little bit more, back to when I was younger, where I was cutting less,” he added.

“I’m 34 now, so I think I just wanna get ahead of it before it gets ahead of me.”

Of course, there are several things that can happen at UFC 292 such as a draw, a No Contest (NC) or a loss that could prompt “Funkmaster” to stick around for at least one more fight. And “Suga” is more than willing and capable of ruining the champion’s immediate plans.

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For the rest of the UFC 292 fight card and PPV lineup click here.