Aljamain Sterling breaks down and gives his pick for Cory Sandhagen vs Marlon Vera
Aljamain Sterling recently previewed the upcoming bantamweight matchup between Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera.
Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen will face off in the main event of the upcoming UFC Fight Night event on March 25, set to take place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Vera and Sandhagen are expected to be close to competing for the UFC title. However, the bantamweight division is in a state of flux with the return of Henry Cejudo, making it uncertain when they will get their chance.
Appearing on a recent episode of his podcast, Aljamain Sterling provided his take on both the fighters ahead of their clash in March. Giving a breakdown of both the fighters, 'The Funk Master' had this to say:
"Chito [Vera] is a very tough dude, he's a savage, he goes for the kill, he's tough, he's durable... he can block and defend well when people are pouring it on him and come out relatively unscathed, and then he'll come back with big shots that could put you away. Sandhagen [is] more of a technician, smooth on the feet. He's gonna try to piece you up and paint this beautiful Picasso on you... we know his grappling is not the greatest, but he's been implementing wrestling in his game." [1:53 mark]
Speaking further, Aljamain Sterling predicted that Marlon Vera will be the victor in the upcoming fight against 'The Sandman', claiming that Vera will win by technical knockout.:
"If I'm looking at it as better, I'm betting on Cory Sandhagen, I'm not betting on Chito [Vera] to win. But I do know if I'm gonna hedge my bet, I'm gonna hedge my bet with maybe Chito [Vera] winning by Knockout or not knockout, by TKO."[6:15 mark]
Check out Aljamain Sterling's prediction for the upcoming fight below:
Aljamain Sterling reveals he'll face Henry Cejudo in May
Aljamain Sterling has announced that his title defense against Henry Cejudo will be delayed due to a bicep injury. The fight was initially expected to take place in April at UFC 287, but Sterling has revealed that they will now meet in May. He is currently undergoing treatment to aid the recovery from the injury.
Sterling said:
"Triple Zero’ is next. 110 percent, he’s next. It’s not going to be April though. After talking with my medical team and the doctors, we’re going to give myself a little bit more time. It’s going to be May. It’s kind of crazy how everything kind of comes full circle. After the fight, I knew I had these injuries coming into the fight, before the rematch with [Petr] Yan, then the T.J."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments on his title championship with Henry Cejudo below: