Aljamain Sterling Willing To Be Backup For Bantamweight Title Fight
Former UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo and Petr Yan are expected to fight for the vacant UFC Bantamweight Title in the near future and Sterling is willing to be the backup fighter for that championship encounter.
“We got Merab (Dvalishvili) fighting next weekend against Ray Borg, we got Matt Frevola against Camacho the following week, so I’m going to be here working out with these guys, helping them stay in shape and getting them ready and giving them some looks,” Sterling said after the event (via Danny Segura of MMA Junkie). “I’m not banged up, which is great, so I could be a good asset for them, which is great for these next few fight weeks and stay ready. I’m trying to realize a dream. I can feel it. I can touch it, and that’s it. I’m on cloud nine, man. With all the craziness going on in the world, you know, this is my moment and definitely still want to pay some type of tribute to what’s going in America today.”
There has been no official backup named for the title bout yet by anybody from the UFC.
Sterling also put on his analyst hat for a moment and previewed the forthcoming title bout between Aldo and Yan.
“It’s a tough fight,” Sterling said. “Jose Aldo is a great dude, he’s tough competition and former champion. He had a really close fight with Marlon Moraes. I thought the fight could’ve gone to him. I thought it did. And Petr Yan is a tough dude himself, but I just don’t think he’s … I don’t know, he’s good, I’m just not sold on him yet. I think there’s some question marks to be answered, and I don’t know. Maybe this one is going to answer those questions. I’d love to be the guy in the position to take out the boogie man that everyone thinks. I’m like, ‘Dude, he’s a f*cking person. He bleeds just like everybody else. I don’t give a sh*t.’ It’s different when you have a good wrestler who’s confident in his abilities. I can strike, I can wrestle, I can do jiu-jitsu. There’s black belts, and then there’s black belts. And I’m a Serra BJJ black belt.”
The fighter, who currently sits at #2 in the UFC Bantamweight Division rankings, is ranked ahead of both competitors vying for the vacant UFC Bantamweight Title.
