Aljamain Sterling believes Shara Magomedov needs "stepping stone fights" before facing elite-level opponents
Aljamain Sterling recently weighed in on the rapidly escalating hype surrounding rising UFC contender Shara Magomedov. Despite the Russian's impressive start to his UFC career, the former bantamweight champion believes the young fighter needs more seasoning before being touted as the next big thing.
Magomedov has burst onto the UFC scene with back-to-back victories, including a Fight of the Night performance against Michał Oleksiejczuk in his most recent outing.
However, Sterling cautioned against prematurely crowning the rising star. The champion suggested that the fighter is still developing his skills and needs more experience against top-tier competition.
In a recent video on his official YouTube channel, the former champ said:
"Shara 'Bullet' is good, he's fun to watch, let's leave it at that. Let's stop the crazy pushing of him saying like he's like the next greatest thing. He's great but relax a little bit. He's good but if he runs into a guy like Bo Nickal I think we all know what's gonna happen. And [I'm] not trying to biased..."
He continued:
"It was a good fight [with Michal Oleksiejczuk]. But there was a lot of things that he did sloppily or could do better. I think that just shows that it's early in his career and he needs time to grow. When you get into UFC in your early career, you need stepping-stone fights. Let him get the stepping stone fights."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below (13:38):
Aljamain Sterling wants a title shot after he dominates Movsar Evloev at UFC 307
Aljamain Sterling believes a dominant victory over undefeated Movsar Evloev at UFC 307 will guarantee him a title shot at featherweight. The two top contenders will clash on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City.
Sterling, who dropped his bantamweight belt to Sean O’Malley last year, has since moved up in weight and secured a convincing win over Calvin Kattar. He now aims to position himself as the next challenger to the winner of the highly anticipated Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway matchup.
The confident former pound-for-pound contender expressed his expectations on The MMA Hour, stating:
“I go out there and I finish Movsar Evloev in the first round, I’m getting a guaranteed title shot. I can’t see any other way around it. I 100 percent believe that…The guy’s undefeated, ranked fifth right now. 6 or 7-0 in the UFC. I go out there, a former champion, come up and 30-27’d Calvin Kattar, and dominate Movsar Evloev, it’s hard to deny me. Who else is there? Why not me?” [H/t: BJPenn]
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below (23:10):