Aljamain Sterling's surgeon explains why surgery is necessary, reveals timeline for his return
UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has received a lot of criticism for winning the title by disqualification after getting hit with an illegal knee strike from Petr Yan at UFC 259. 'Funkmater' has found himself in a similar situation for favoring much-needed neck surgery over the title fight rematch with Yan.
Aljamain Sterling attempted to silence his critics by uploading a video of his doctor's explanation on his Instagram account. In the video, Sterling's doctor shared scans of his vertebral column. He explained the necessity of surgical procedures to get rid of the muscle weakness caused by the narrowing of the left neural foramen between C6 and C7 vertebrae.
The foramen acts as the passage for the C7 nerve which controls the tricep muscles in the upper arm. It also controls the forearm muscles that are required for straightening the elbow, lifting the wrist, and holding the fingers in an outstretched position. The doctor predicted that Sterling will need three to six months for complete recovery after the surgery.
Aljamain Sterling will go under the knife to cure the condition on April 16, 2021. The champ also has nerve damage to the C6 nerve, which is curable with rehab.
Aljamain Sterling will be out of competition until October 2021
The caption to Aljamain Sterling's post revealed that he has suffered from the condition since his days as a collegiate wrestler and the symptoms have gotten progressively worse in the years that followed. Funkmaster also revealed October 2021 as the potential timeline for his return to competition.
'My first episode was from wrestling in college at SUNY Morrisville. Since then my symptoms have gotten progressively worse. I have pain driving, sleeping, standing, and sitting... I can’t wait to get rehab started and prove to all the doubters that I am, who I say I am! October can’t come soon enough!!' Aljamain Sterling wrote.
Aljamain Sterling became UFC bantamweight champion by disqualification at UFC 259. The disqualification resulted from an illegal knee strike from former champ Petr Yan, rendering Sterling unable to continue. However, Sterling attributed the aggravation of his nerve damage to a grappling exchange in the first round and did not mention the illegal knee strike as a cause.
'I think when I let him (Petr Yan) German Suplex me in Round 1, the camels back broke and that started the muscle weakness,' Aljamain Sterling wrote.
Former champions Petr Yan and TJ Dillashaw, as well as Cory Sandhagen and Rob Font, are all in the mix for the next shot at the UFC bantamweight title. Aljamain Sterling's surgery and rehab process will likely keep him out of competition for the rest of the year. It would not be surprising if the UFC makes an interim title fight involving the top contenders in the meantime to keep the title picture rolling.