Aljamain Sterling is adamant about wanting to get an immediate rematch against Sean O’Malley, but if he doesn’t get it, he wants to see Merab Dvalishvili get his shot.
Sterling lost his UFC bantamweight title to O’Malley last month in the main event of UFC 292. The TKO loss snapped a run of three title defenses and a nine-fight winning streak.
“I think if I don’t get the immediate rematch, and I don’t want to fight if they offer me the immediate rematch for December, I’m going to have to respectfully decline,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “But if they were to do it early next year, like in January or February, I would accept it in a heartbeat.
“But if I’m not going to get the rematch, the next guy in line has to be Merab Dvalishvili. He has to be. He’s the No. 1 contender. I don’t think any other matchup makes more scene than him. Clearly, the other guys that are on the sideline, they’re hurt. It’s going to be interesting to see what the UFC does, but I think that’s the most logical matchup.”
Sterling wants another crack at O’Malley above anything else, but wouldn’t mind seeing his friend and teammate Dvalishvili get a title shot if the UFC doesn’t come calling – even if it could potentially mean a complicated road back to the belt.
“Of course, that would put me in limbo,” Sterling said. “People will be like, ‘Where does that leave you, Aljo? I don’t know. Maybe I stick around 135 and take a fight or two and then go to 145, or maybe I go straight to 145. It just really depends. Let’s just see how things shape up before we start jumping to conclusions and get all crazy.”
Sterling and Dvalishvili have made it clear that they’re not willing to fight each other. So if Dvalishvili were to get the next shot and beat O’Malley, this could eliminate Sterling’s chances at fighting for the belt once again.
Regardless, Sterling thinks Dvalishvili poses interesting questions for O’Malley, and he’d very much like to see that matchup.
“I think it’s another interesting matchup against a guy that can get takedowns over and over and over again and exhaust his opponents,” Sterling said. “Look what he did with Yan and look how the fight with Yan and O’Malley went. Obviously, look at my fight against Sean until it was over. It leaves a lot of interesting questions to be answered. I think it would be a great opportunity for Merab to get a title shot and to become the first Georgian champion. It would be huge for his country and huge for our team.”