Aljamain Sterling reveals he is not cleared to fight in New York due to a medical condition
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling revealed the medical diagnosis that has prevented him from fighting in his home state of New York. Sterling said that prior to making his UFC debut in 2014, a CAT scan showed two spots in his brain.
While Sterling opted against revealing what his condition is called, he stated that the New York State Athletic Commission won't allow him to compete. 'Funk Master' told Ariel Helwani:
"So when I made my UFC debut, February 22, 2014, I’m a vet man, at UFC 170, the Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann card, I believe. I had to get a CAT scan, first time ever getting a CAT scan. They found two spots on my brain, they were like a millimeter or something like that. But, it looked like there was trauma, and they weren’t sure what it was. I forget the exact term, aneurysm or angioma or something like that.”
Sterling added:
“In order for me to be cleared, I would’ve had to like go take it out of my head. So, I wasn’t sure if I needed to get like drilled in my head to pull these things out. So they monitored it, they allowed me to fight in Nevada... A couple years after they realized, nothing was happening. They were like, ‘Okay, you’re safe. You’re not bleeding out, you’re not going to die in the cage.’ Knock on wood! So things were good, and I was allowed to compete in Nevada and all the other states except New York.”
Catch Aljamain Sterling's comments below:
Aljamain Sterling on why he can't compete in New York.
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Aljamain Sterling targets Sean O'Malley and featherweight title after Henry Cejudo fight
Aljamain Sterling is set to return to the octagon this weekend for a highly anticipated clash against Henry Cejudo. In a recent interview with ESPN MMA's Megan Olivi, 'Funk Master' spoke about wanting to move up in weight and fight for a second UFC title.
Sterling revealed that he'd like to defend his bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo and then against Sean O'Malley, before moving up to the featherweight division to fight the winner of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez. The Long Island native said:
"I smash Henry [Cejudo]. I smash [Sean] O'Malley. I go up to 145 [pounds]. I fight [Alex] Volkanovski or [Yair] Rodriguez, and maybe I defend the belt one time, and I'm done."
Catch Aljamain Sterling's comments below (17:30):