BREAKING: Aljamain Sterling set to face surging featherweight in super-fast turnaround to combat sports
Aljamain Sterling recently lost his bantamweight title in an upset against Sean O'Malley as he succumbed to a second-round TKO at UFC 292. However, he is returning to combat sports in a super fast turnaround.
In his next outing, the 34-year-old is set to take on UFC featherweight Nathaniel Wood in a grappling match. The duo will lock horns at the upcoming pro jiu-jitsu event, Polaris 25, on September 30 in Wales, United Kingdom.
Per Polaris' official website, the grappling event will feature the largest cash prize in European grappling history.
Sterling is touted as one of the best grapplers in the UFC. 'Funk Master' holds eight submission wins on his record. He even gave Olympic gold medalist wrestler Henry Cejudo a run for his money at UFC 288.
'The Prospect' is no slouch either and holds five submission wins in his MMA career. However, he is primarily known for his striking skills.
When Aljamain Sterling hinted at scrapping his featherweight move
Although Aljamain Sterling will take on a featherweight fighter in his upcoming grappling match, 'Funk Master' might not move up in weight in the UFC anytime soon.
The bantamweight has long been signaling a move to 145lbs, but his recent TKO loss to Sean O'Malley has made the fighter seemingly reanalyze his options. During his post-fight interview at UFC 292, he said:
"I definitely got to go back and reassess some things [before I go up to featherweight] because if he [O'Malley] caught me like that, I can only imagine what [Alexander] Volkanovksi would do. So there is some soul-searching I've got to do."
Catch Aljamain Sterling's comments below (1:02):