The UFC has been absolutely ruthless lately in getting fighters out of their roster. They have already gotten rid of many big-name stars like Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, and more in the past year. Demian Maia and Jimmie Rivera are the latest fighters to join the list. Aljamain Sterling reacted to the news.
While Maia’s cut can be explained because of the submission wizard’s age, Rivera’s might come as a surprise to many. The latter’s last act inside the octagon was a close decision loss to Pedro Munhoz in a back-and-forth contest. He has had a phenomenal run in the UFC, to say the least. However, the promotion has revealed both Maia and Rivera have fought out their contracts.
Nobody's safe… https://t.co/9kCTG8ee4P
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) August 23, 2021
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Current UFC bantamweight champion, Sterling has responded to the news of a big name being cut from his division. ‘Nobody’s safe,‘ wrote Sterling over a post of MMAJunkie‘s John Morgan.
Aljamain Sterling returns to action against Petr Yan at UFC 267
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‘Funkmaster’ will defend his belt for the first time against ‘No Mercy’ at UFC 267. Yan landed an illegal knee on Sterling during their first fight at UFC 259. What’s more frustrating for the former champion is the fact that he was in firm control of the fight at that point. Well, he has a chance to get his throne back.
As for Sterling, he will have an extra chip on his shoulder to prove that he is, in fact, a worthy champion. However, to win the rematch, he needs to make some adjustments. Many believed he was the superior grappler by far, leading up to the first fight. But he couldn’t impose his skills as he would have liked. Yan, on the other hand, secured a plethora of takedowns.
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‘No Mercy‘ is certainly the better striker. So, Sterling‘s best bet will be to have a better game plan to execute his strength or come up with n element of surprise.