Aljamain Sterling returned to the win column on Saturday at UFC Shanghai, and he believes a title shot is in sight.
After suffering a disappointing loss to Movsar Evloev last time out at UFC 310, Aljamain Sterling was hoping to return to the win column against Brian Ortega at UFC Shanghai.
The fight looked to be in jeopardy on Friday at the official weigh-ins as ‘T-City’ weighed in over the featherweight limit and looked in extremely worrying shape.
Despite that, both fighters agreed to go ahead with the fight at a catchweight of 153lbs and they eventually met inside the Octagon.
Lerone Murphy reacts to Sterling calling for a title shot after UFC Shanghai win
In the co-main event, which was contested over five rounds, the former UFC bantamweight champion dominated for the large majority of it, going on to win the fight via unanimous decision.
Despite the fight being extremely void of any action, following the fight, Sterling audaciously called for a featherweight title shot.
“I think I’ve done enough in this game, I’ve been around the block, I defended my belt the most in bantamweight history, I believe I’m tied for the most bantamweight wins in UFC history, I came to featherweight, I think I did my damn thing against a really tough dude who fought for the belt twice, respect, (Alexander) Volkanovski is the man but I’d love an opportunity to fight for the belt again,” Sterling said.
‘Funkmaster’s’ callout didn’t sit well with longtime featherweight contender Lerone Murphy, who likely secured himself the next title shot with a Knockout of the Year contender last week at UFC 319.
“LOL,” Murphy reacted to Sterling’s call for a title fight in a post on X.
It is extremely unlikely that with his win over Ortega, Sterling will leapfrog Murphy, who Alexander Volkanovski has already picked as his next opponent.
What’s next for Aljamain Sterling?
With Sterling likely needing at least one more win before he is considered for a title shot, a fight against English contender Arnold Allen could make sense next.
Allen is coming off a win over Giga Chikadze and is ranked one spot higher than Sterling in the 145lb rankings.