UFC Shanghai co-headliner Aljamain Sterling remains the only man to have finished the next bantamweight title challenger in mixed martial arts.
After hitting the road again to stage its latest pay-per-view event from Chicago this past weekend, where Khamzat Chimaev dominated Dricus du Plessis to become middleweight champion, the UFC is back overseas.
Attention has shifted from the 185-pounders to the light heavyweights, with Zhang Mingyang set to battle Johnny Walker in his home country of China. That bout looks likely to end proceedings in Shanghai with a knockout, but fans are expecting a different kind of showdown in the co-main event.
Setting the stage for the curtain closer will be Sterling, a former bantamweight champion, and Brian Ortega, a two-time title challenger at 145 pounds.
Both men have incredible grappling abilities, and that was on display from ‘Funk Master’ when he needed just seconds to put away one of his ex-division’s best.
- LATEST UFC NEWS: Georges St-Pierre’s coach makes controversial Khamzat Chimaev claim involving Anderson Silva after UFC 319
Aljamain Sterling choked out Cory Sandhagen to leave Joe Rogan shocked on commentary
Sterling enjoyed a record-breaking title reign at 135 pounds, racking up the most consecutive successful defenses in the division’s history thanks to victories over Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw, and Henry Cejudo.
But perhaps his most impressive performance to date in the UFC came before he reached the throne.
Sterling faced Cory Sandhagen at UFC 250 five years ago in a battle to determine the next challenger. The New York native needed just 88 seconds to put ‘The Sandman’ to sleep, as he quickly dragged the elite striker down and submitted him with a rear-naked choke.
The move left the commentary team going berserk, and Joe Rogan in particular let out excited remarks as Sterling made quick work of a top contender who had never been finished before.
“Oh, Aljo’s got his back, early! Early! Oh my goodness. Aljo’s got it on the jaw, he’s crushing his face,” Rogan said as Sterling immediately took Sandhagen down and attacked a face crank.
“This is huge for Aljamain. Oh! He’s under the chin! He’s under! He’s gonna go to sleep! Oh!
“Unbelievable! He went out, look at that. Wow,” Rogan added. “That was an exclamation point on top of a statement. We knew a contender was going to rise, and that contender’s name is Aljamain Sterling.”
- LATEST UFC NEWS: Conor McGregor has one-word reaction as ex-teammate Dillon Danis spars with BKFC star he ‘fired’
Aljamain Sterling broke down Merab Dvalishvili vs Cory Sandhagen years before their fight
A few years on, Sterling is off the bantamweight throne and Sandhagen is fast approaching his first opportunity to sit on it.
Sandhagen will challenge Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 320, a pay-per-view they will co-headline below the light heavyweight championship rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira.
Among the wins that brought ‘The Sandman’ to this point was his dominant performance against Marlon Vera in 2023. But while the American showed his grappling improvements, Sterling insisted it would still not be enough against his teammate.
“I think round one, Merab takes him down multiple times,” said Sterling on his YouTube channel. “The difference is keeping him down.
“But I think seeing how Sandhagen slowed down in rounds three, four, and five (against Vera), I can see how Merab can break him.
“I think that would be the difference in that type of matchup — that pace, that style, and keeping Cory on his back foot.”
Sandhagen will now have the chance to prove Sterling’s early prediction for the Dvalishvili fight wrong a couple of years later, when he shares the cage with the Georgian champion in Las Vegas on October 4.