With UFC 300 just around the corner, scheduled to take place on April 13, 2024, fight fans of all ages are waiting patiently for the CEO of UFC, Dana White, to announce the fight cards. However, the head honcho did tease some matchups for the massive UFC event. Among the few matchups, White revealed Aljamain Sterling was moving up a weight class to fight Calvin Kattar.
The last time we saw Aljamain Sterling inside the Octagon, it was him defending his bantamweight title against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 in August 2023. Sterling lost his title against O’Malley and has been taking some time off. The ‘Funk Master’ revealed what he was up to in his time away from the Octagon. Here’s what he said.
Aljamain Sterling reveals details about his life post-292 fight
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Aljamain Sterling had a respectable reign as a champion, defending his title against the likes of Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw, and Henry Cejudo before losing his title to Sean O’Malley. Though ‘Funk Master’ was expecting a rematch against ‘Suga’, the fight failed to come to fruition.
Sterling revealed that he strayed away from the athlete’s life after his loss. He stated, “Those eight to nine weeks of drinking every single day and hookah non-stop, staying up late at night, it definitely took a toll on my lungs. So I still feel like I’m battling back from and trying to gain all that.”
However, in the Instagram post highlighting Sterling’s quote by MMAJunkie, Aljamain Sterling commented on the post, saying, “But now we’re back in action baby!!” insinuating that he has recovered and is ready for action against Calvin Kattar.
View this post on Instagram
The Funkmaster has always hinted at moving up in weight ever since he captured the UFC bantamweight world title. He showed interest in becoming a double champ, so Kattar would be the perfect opponent to see how he’d perform against bigger fighters. The post from MMAJunkie also had many fans commenting on it.
Fans React to the FunkMaster’s Statement
Fans were understandably shocked upon hearing what the former champion, Aljamain Sterling, was up to after his loss against O’Malley. Here are some of the comments from the post.
A fan commented on the post, questioning why Sterling celebrated after his loss.
“Bro lost the title and celebrated for nine weeks?”
Another fan wrote:
“Sean really made this man fall off”
One fan commended FunkMaster’s transparency, supporting him in his fight against Kattar.
“Hard to admit stuff like that when you’re a high level pro athlete. Respect for being transparent. Hope he wins.”
One fan made a hilarious comparison between Costa and Sterling’s comments.
“Paulo costa: “was drunk the night before the fight”
“Aljo: I was drunk and high for 8-9 weeks”
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A fan made a sarcastic remark about fans reacting to Aljamain Sterling taking a break.
“OMG a guy who was basically in an ongoing fight camp for 2 years took a 2 month vacation where he was partying and drinking every night in Bali, Australia and Singapore!? Omg he must’ve been so depressed. He’s losing it”
A fan defended Sterling from a fan’s hate.
“Guy gets sm hate cuz yan broke the rules and kneed him in the fucking face, and I like yan too but I don’t get the hate Sterling gets lol”
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Given that Aljamain Sterling is moving up a weight class, how do you expect him to perform against Calvin Kattar in the featherweight division? Let us know your thoughts on the matchup in the comments section below.
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