Sterling Lays Out ‘Suga’ Revenge Plot

I guess he was secure after all.

If reigning bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley thought he was safe from the vengeance of former 135-pound titleholder Aljamain Sterling, simply because “Funk Master” fled to the featherweight class, then “Suga” is in for a rude awakening when Sterling captures his second crown in as many weight classes.

It all starts with a victory over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 on Sat. night (April 13) in Las Vegas.

“I think if Max [Holloway] goes out there and he wins, I go out there and I win, and I look good doing it — Ilia Topuria already said what he said,” Sterling told reporters during the UFC 300 media day. “He says there’s no challengers, so why not just skip the line instead of getting in a tough gauntlet of a queue. The UFC, they do what they want, right? So if they offer you a title fight, you’d be kind of crazy to tell them no. So, if I go out there do my job, I look good on a huge, massive card, the rest will take care of itself.”

Holloway claims Topuria, current featherweight champion, brushed off a “Blessed” bout.

“I would lie if I said it didn’t bother me,” Sterling said about his knockout loss to O’Malley. “It’s not like O’Malley’s a bad fighter, he’s a really good fighter. I just think the timeline was very fitting for him. I would like to get that one back, especially if I can win the belt at 145. He’s talking about, ‘Oh, I wanna go get the jet and go to Spain.’ Bro, worry about Merab first, and let me worry about Calvin. If I get through Calvin and I can win the belt again, I would love to get that one back on that skinny guy.”

Teammate Merab Dvalishvili may beat him to the punch later this year.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 300 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 300 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 300: “Pereira vs. Hill” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive UFC 300 event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 300 fight card and PPV lineup click here.