Aljamain Sterling is already eyeing a matchup with UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.

‘El Matador’ returned to the octagon in the principle occasion of UFC 308 over the weekend. Again for the primary time since profitable featherweight gold in February, Ilia Topuria confronted Max Holloway. ‘Blessed’ earned the chance with a surprising fifth-round knockout win over Justin Gaethje in April. Nonetheless, Topuria handed the Hawaiian a stoppage loss on Saturday.
The defeat was Max Holloway’s first profession knockout loss. Talking on a current version of his podcast, Aljamain Sterling reacted to Ilia Topuria’s first title protection. Whereas ‘The Funk Grasp’ provided quite a lot of reward for the Georgian’s efficiency, he additionally opened up on a future struggle in opposition to him.
Aljamain Sterling famously moved to featherweight in April, defeating Calvin Kattar at UFC 300. As of now, the previous bantamweight champion is about to satisfy Movsar Evloev in December, at UFC 310. Sterling believes {that a} victory over the undefeated Russian may set the stage for a gathering with Ilia Topuria.
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🗣️🤔Aljamain Sterling breaks down his potential struggle with Ilia Topuria:
“I do assume I’ve an awesome fashion to neutralize his offense. Bro, nearly all of those guys are putting wizards. Bro, I ain’t doing this s***. We’re sitting there [waiting to shoot for the] takedown; we’re… pic.twitter.com/nNaYPhlazX
— House of Battle (@Home_of_Fight) October 28, 2024
Aljamain Sterling previews Ilia Topuria matchup following UFC 308 title protection
If the title struggle involves fruition, Aljamain Sterling is assured in his abilities. Whereas the previous UFC champion has seen nearly everybody stand and commerce with Ilia Topuria, he received’t do this. On the podcast, Sterling admitted that he plans to make a struggle with ‘El Matador’, a grappling match early.
“If I beat Movsar and I do get the crack, I do assume I’ve an awesome fashion to neutralize his offense.” Aljamain Sterling said, discussing Ilia Topuria’s victory at UFC 308. “Bro, nearly all of those guys are putting with him. I’m not doing that, I’m not doing that. We’re sitting there on the lookout for a takedown, and we’re making it right into a grappling match. I’m making an attempt to get the W.”
He continued, “I’m not making an attempt to get my head and mind despatched to the subsequent dimension, I’m good on that. However, I believe it’s cool that folks had been even mentioning that [fight]. That may be a loopy match for a number of causes… However, I’ve acquired one robust opponent in entrance of me [right now], and we’ll go from there.”
What do you make of those feedback from the previous UFC champ? Do you need to see Ilia Topuria vs. Aljamain Sterling?