Max Holloway could not crack the code against Ilia Topuria as the Georgian-Spaniard got the better of the former featherweight and the current BMF champion. However, there’s one combatant who claims that he seems to have an answer to Topuria’s tactics. If you’ve guessed it, it’s none other than the former 135lbs champion, Aljamain Sterling.

“I’ll point to the ground but I’ll do my running man dance instead. But If I were to fight him, you know, God willing, Inshallah. I beat Movsar and I do get the crack, I do have a great style to neutralize his offense,” Sterling stated on his YouTube channel. Also, he plans to be shrewd about his approach while taking on Ilia Topuria.

‘Funk Master’ seems to be opposed to trying to trade strikes with the ‘El Matador’. Instead, he prefers making his fight against Topuria a full-blown grappling fight. “Most of these guys [that] are striking with him, I ain’t doing that, bro… We sitting here looking for a takedown and then we’re going to have to make it a grappling match.” 

Nevertheless, Sterling understands the problems that Ilia Topuria can put a fighter under. ‘El Matador’ finished Max Holloway, who had never been knocked out in any fight before, which led ‘Funk Master’ to claim that all the other 145lbs contenders need to be cautious of the reigning top dog. Let’s see what he had to say on that front.

Aljamain Sterling claims Ilia Topuria is a “problem”

Ilia Topuria more than proved his mettle when he defeated Max Holloway. There were a lot of fans and pundits alike who believed that the main event in Abu Dhabi was going to fall in Holloway’s yard but that didn’t turn out to be true. ‘El Matador’ put on one of his greatest showings in any UFC bout, leading Alajamain Sterling to claim that Topuria is indeed the man for the 145-pound division to look out for and not give him an inch during a fight.

“Damn! Ilia is a problem! Finishing 2 all-time greats back to back is no joke,” Sterling wrote in a post on Instagram. Surely ‘Funk Master’ would be wary about the champion, given that he is not that far from bagging a featherweight title shot himself. When he witnessed the final moments of their scrap, the former bantamweight champion could not believe the sight of the Hawaiian getting knocked out and even put his hands on his head. It’s not something that Aljamain Sterling does every day.

Well, Ilia Topuria looks to be in the hunt for a rematch against Alexander Volkanovski, but Aljamain Sterling has got Movsar Evloev next. Do you think these two will ever cross paths in the future? Drop your comments below.