Aljamain Sterling says the bicep injury won’t stop him from defending his title against Henry Cejudo.
Sterling vs. Cejudo was targeted for March 4 at UFC 285 before everything became complicated. Earlier this week, the UFC bantamweight world champion announced that he’s had a torn bicep for months.
‘Funk Master’ explained that if he were fighting Sean O’Malley, he wouldn’t get the bicep surgery, but countering the wrestling pedigree of ‘Triple C’ would require both arms to be 100%. The injury announcement created widespread concern for the rumored bantamweight title fight at UFC 285. Since then, the New York native provided an update on Twitter by saying:
“.@HenryCejudo Why you running Tubbs? I never said the fight is off! I’m handling my bicep with the UFC team and doctors. You can wait another month to get your [peach emoji] kicked. Because if you lose to @SugaSeanMMA, kiss your chance goodbye to face the real King.”
‘Funk Master’ is entering 2023 with two successful title defenses in the past calendar year. The 33-year-old started by silencing the doubters with a split decision against Petr Yan. Sterling returned six months later and beat TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280. The question is, what’s next for the UFC bantamweight world champion?
Take a look at Aljamain Sterling calling out Henry Cejudo below:
Aljamain Sterling sends a warning to Henry Cejudo and Sean O’Malley
Sean O’Malley shook up the bantamweight division the same night Aljamain Sterling beat TJ Dillashaw. ‘Sugar’ defeated Petr Yan and emerged as the number one bantamweight contender. Although Sterling is expected to fight Henry Cejudo next, the reigning 135-pound king is keeping an eye on O’Malley.
He recently sent a warning to O’Malley and Cejudo on Twitter by saying:
“They hear what they want to hear. The king ain’t going anywhere and once we figure things out on the doc side and then with the UFC either one of those side shows can get smoked.”
The next UFC bantamweight title fight could play out several ways. If Sterling decides to get bicep surgery, Cejudo and O’Malley might end up in an interim championship bout. Although ‘Funk Master’ deserves time to recover properly, the 135-pound division is stacked with elite contenders getting close to a title shot.