Aljamain Sterling gets 100% real about potential Jean Silva fight next: "I don't want those problems right now"
Aljamain Sterling recently opened up about a potential matchup with Jean Silva. Sterling suggested his return against a different opponent, since he believes Silva would be a difficult matchup for him at this time. However, he seems open to a contest with the Brazilian at some point in future.
After losing his bantamweight throne to Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 in 2023, Sterling moved up and is 1-1 in the featherweight division, the most recent fight being a unanimous decision defeat against No.4-ranked contender Movsar Evloev at UFC 310 last year.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Sterling was asked if he would be interested in taking on Silva next, as the 28-year-old is rising up in the 145-pound ranks. 'Funk Master' responded:
''Oh yeah, [Silva's] tough. I told his coach after he won against Bryce [Mitchell], I saw him in the back room and said, 'Just tell him not to call me out... tell Jean not to call me.' I was like, I like this guy. I don't want to fight him right now. I could fight him. I just don't want to fight him right now. Like, I'm on a different trajectory right now. I want to do something different. He's on a different trajectory. He was like, you do your thing, I do my thing. And eventually we will meet up. For right now, like, I don't want those problems right now. And I'm just being honest, that's a tough cat to fight right now.''
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below:
As for Silva, he is currently ranked No.11 in the featherweight division. 'Lord' is on a 13-fight win streak, out of which 12 victories have come via finishes. In his most recent octagon outing at UFC 314 earlier this year, Silva secured an impressive second-round submission win over Bryce Mitchell.
Aljamain Sterling discusses Sean O'Malley's performance at UFC 316
Sean O'Malley's performance against Merab Dvalishvili in their rematch at UFC 316 last weekend did not impress Aljamain Sterling, who shares a close relationship with the reigning champion.
In the aforementioned conversation with Ariel Helwani, Sterling said that O'Malley looked better in his first meeting with Dvalishvili at Noche UFC 306 last year:
''Respectfully, I didn't see anything that was significantly different. I don't wanna be unfair to him, but I don't think that version of him looked better than the first one. I felt like in the first fight he looked better, in my opinion."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below: