Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling might be coming off a hard-fought defeat to Movsar Evloev, but the ‘Funk Master’ believes he could still fight for UFC gold next.
This comes after it was suggested that current featherweight king Ilia ‘El Matador’ Topuria could ditch 145lbs in favor of a big-money move up to lightweight, leaving the division without a ruler.
Aljamain Sterling suggests interim title rematch if Ilia Topuria vacates
Earlier this week, Ilia Topuria’s coach teased that it won’t be long before the Spanish-Georgian sensation leaves the featherweight division in the hope of capturing a second UFC title at 155lbs.
Whilst Topuria himself has only just come out to state that he “will not leave the [featherweight] title vacant,” that hasn’t stopped a host of top contenders from throwing their names into the title hat – including Aljamain Sterling.
Incredibly, if not slightly delusional, Sterling took to X (Twitter) today to claim that “Based on the landscape of the division, it should be a rematch with me and Movsar for the [interim] belt.”
Sterling faced Movsar Evloev just a few weeks ago at UFC 310, dropping a unanimous decision to the undefeated Russian; whilst a rematch sounds fantastic, there’s certainly no chance of that being for UFC gold.
Looking at the current rankings, there are eight fighters between Sterling and champion Ilia Topuria – including the aforementioned Evloev, as well as several fighters who arguably deserve the next title shot far more than ‘Funk Master’ such as Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes.
UFC fans troll ‘Funk Master’ over suggestion he could fight for title next
Whilst Aljamain Sterling remains one of the best MMA fighters on the planet, the former bantamweight champion has been ruthlessly trolled online for his interim title suggestion.
“Lopes vs Volk for the belt is only thing that makes sense,” reads the top comments on his post, with the second being more to the point: “What was actually going through ur mind when you tweeted this?”
“Nothing personal, but a rematch with Lopes and Movsar makes more sense. Both are in the top 5 and hungry. Both have beat some tough guys to get their. You vs Yair would be awesome. Volk vs you would be dope. But I think those 2 deserve it rn.”
“lol there’s no shot they don’t do lopes vs Volk for the vacant though,” wrote another fan, with several users questioning what #9 ranked Sterling meant by the current ‘landscape’ of the division.
“What landscape? You think you can jump over lopes, volk, and the dude who just beat you?”
“Man. While i do want to see you fight for the strap. Absolutely not. Volk vs Lopes.”
“You vs Volk for #1 contender and Lopes vs Evloev 2 for the belt I think makes most sense if Topuria vacates.”
Whilst there are multiple intriguing fights out there for Sterling, including a rematch with Evloev, it would be absurd if the UFC chose to put ‘Funk Master’ in there with UFC gold on the line; especially over Lopes or Volkanovski.