In the midst of recent rumors, Aljamain Sterling has today confirmed that he will put his UFC bantamweight title on the line in March against the returning Henry Cejudo.
‘Funk Master’ originally stated that he won’t be competing for some time and intends to take a break from the octagon after a grueling 2022.
The emotional drain that being a champion has on fighters is likely to be incredibly tough to deal with, but the 135er still managed to beat both T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan this year.
While addressing the rumors on his YouTube channel, Aljamain Sterling stated that, while nothing has been signed yet, he will be putting his title on the line against Henry Cejudo next.
“Just breaking news, this fight is going to happen. Obviously, you guys saw the face-off with myself and Henry Cejudo. I have no problem fighting Henry, never ducked anybody a day in my life. The UFC gives me the toughest competition and I always step up to the plate and I always win… I am announcing that I am going to fight Henry next, we are targeting March… It’s done, but it’s still not done until there’s ink on the paper. But, it’s done, but it’s still kinda not done. This is the fight that’s gonna happen next.”
Sterling has been bulldozing his way through bantamweight challengers and has looked almost flawless since suffering a viral knockout loss to Marlon Moraes back in 2017.
Back-to-back wins over Petr Yan—despite one coming by way of disqualification—a mauling of Dillashaw, and a lightning-quick submission against Cory Sandhagen have been some standout performances in recent years for the champion.
Check out what Aljamain Sterling had to say about his next title defense in the video below.
What earned Henry Cejudo the next shot at Aljamain Sterling?
While he has been out of action for over two years following his retirement, Henry Cejudo has returned and is back amongst the title fights, but what earned the wrestler an instant shot at Aljamain Sterling’s gold?
After losing to Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benevidez six years ago, ‘Triple C’ switched up his style and became one of the best fighters in the sport of mixed martial arts.
His Olympic-level wrestling, coupled with his ever-improving standup game, made him a problem for most, and he showcased that with a six-fight win streak against some legends of the sport before retiring without losing either of his two titles.