Aljamain Sterling opens up on retirement after Movsar Evloev loss: “I still have gas in the tank”
Aljamain Sterling recently opened up on the possibility of retiring following his loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 310. The former bantamweight discussed the idea of walking away from the sport and noted that it was because his fight was very competitive and not a definitive loss.
'Funk Master' lost a unanimous decision to the unbeaten featherweight contender after all three judges scored the bout 29-28 in Evloev's favor. It was a competitive back-and-forth bout that showcased both competitors' exceptional grappling, and they each had their moments. Despite the loss, many in the MMA community, including fighters on the UFC roster, took to social media after the fight and argued that Sterling should have won.
During his latest appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the former bantamweight champion responded to whether he was contemplating retiring following his loss.
Sterling dismissed retiring because of how close the fight was and noted that he believes he would regret it years later if he walked away while he could physically still compete:
"For me to hang it up when I know I still have gas in the tank, I feel like I would be doing something that I might regret later on whereas it's gonna be like, 'Damn, I wish I would've just done a few more when I know I had the physical capability of still doing it versus when I'm in my 40s and then I'm looking back like, 'Man, I could've done one more. I should've did it.' So that's where I'm at."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments regarding retirement below:
Aljamain Sterling confident about UFC double champ ambitions
Despite his latest loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 310, Aljamain Sterling said he is confident he can still become a two-division UFC champion.
During the referenced interview, the 35-year-old dismissed retirement talks following a controversial loss and mentioned that he believes he can compete with the top contenders and work towards a title shot. He said:
"I know where I'm at. I know I can be the best in the world again. And the sh**ty part is like, man...I did two training camps back-to-back because of this stupid injury and just to come up short. I would almost rather get beat convincingly where I'm just like, 'There's nothing I can say'."
Check out the official judges' decision for Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310 below: