Aljamain Sterling remains steadfast in his commitment to venture into the featherweight division following his bout with Sean O'Malley.
"Funk Master" has expressed keen interest in stepping into the cage against either Max Holloway or Calvin Kattar for his inaugural featherweight bout.
Sterling talked about his featherweight plans on his YouTube channel on November 16:
"If the Max Holloway fight is on the table, I want that fight over the Calvin Kattar fight," Sterling explained. "If I'm gonna go in I wanna go in guns blazing. ...I wanna go out with memorable fights. ...I'm not trying to say any more names I just wanna fight the best and biggest challenges out there..."
In a post on November 17, Sterling elaborated that the Holloway fight scares him, but "I believe Funk can get it done":
"Some people avoid the biggest fights, I run towards them. We are not all the same. Max challenged Poirier for the Interim belt, and this feels like me challenging him for an Interim belt. This fight scares Funk, and that’s what excites Funk to bring the best version of Funk, and I believe Funk can get it done!"
Sterling is no stranger to heavier weight classes. "Funk" fought at 165lbs --- 30lbs heavier than UFC bantamweight --- in his grappling match at Polaris 25 on September 30. He also had a spat of featherweight bouts during his time at Cage Fury Fighting Championships.
As of 2024, neither Sterling, Holloway, nor Kattar are dealing with injuries or sidelined from competition. With Sterling's prominent status, there's definitely potential that fans might witness his comeback at the much-anticipated UFC 300.
A matchup between Sterling and Holloway holds significant merit for a featured slot at the landmark UFC 300. With no current updates and several other stars potentially unavailable around April 2024, the prospect of this showdown gaining traction is quite real.
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