Aljamain Sterling Sidelined By Injury

Aljamain Sterling has revealed that he suffered a grade 2 tear in his tricep during his recent unanimous decision victory over Brian Ortega at UFC Shanghai.

The injury occurred in the fourth round when he attempted a spinning back elbow. Sterling, who was temporarily unable to defend himself due to the injury, admitted to a moment of panic. He managed to close out the win, with a unanimous decision: 50-45 (x3). Despite the setback, the former UFC Bantamweight Champion is hopeful that he can return to the octagon by December.

Reaction

“So I got my MRI back: Grade 2 tear in my tricep. But they said strain. As he’s reading the report, he goes, ‘Grade 2 strain.’ So I’m relaxed, I’m chilling. I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just a strain. I’ll be back, no problem. That’s not like a tear or anything.’ Ryan goes, ‘A strain is a tear. What are you talking about?’ But yeah, I’ve got a partial tear in my tricep tendon.

“The thing is still a balloon. I’m a little bit saddened by that because obviously the momentum, riding a wave right now then that happens. I’m thinking maybe I can be back and ready to compete by December, which I still think I can. It just depends on how fast this heals,” Sterling said

The timing of this injury is particularly unfortunate for Sterling, as he was hoping to build on the momentum of his win over Ortega. Sterling is now a top-ranked contender in the featherweight division and a potential title challenger. With a possible December return, he would be looking to take on another high-ranking opponent to cement his place at the top. A fight against a top-five featherweight like Movsar Evloev or Arnold Allen would make sense and would put Sterling in a prime position for a title shot.