"I have to pose the same question" – Aljamain Sterling discusses possible "burnouts" for fellow former champions Israel Adesanya and Charles Oliveira
Aljamain Sterling believes that his quick turnaround to face Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 might have contributed to his defeat. But the former champion has refused to use the lack of rest between bouts as an excuse.
Sterling's nine-fight win streak was ended by O'Malley courtesy a second-round knockout. Their bantamweight title clash headlined the pay-per-view card, which took place on August 19.
Aljamain Sterling had faced Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 in May, a fight he won via unanimous decision following a grueling five-round battle.
'Funk Master' reflected on his defeat to Sean O'Malley during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour. He pointed to the recent losses of Israel Adesanya, as well as Charles Oliveira's UFC 280 loss, referencing the burnout that the two ex-champions could have experienced due to their consistent schedule.
Aljamain Sterling said:
"I look at Izzy, I look at Charles Oliveira. You could kind of see the burnout, and then you wonder if that affected their performances or if the other guys were just that much better. Then I kind of have to ask myself the same question, if I had a similar situation. At the end of the day, I've made peace with my decision. I decided to step in there."
Watch the video below from 2:45:
Both Israel Adesanya and Charles Oliveira had incredibly active title reigns.
'Do Bronx' won the vacant lightweight title against Michael Chandler at UFC 262 in May 2021. Oliveira then defeated Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, before losing to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, all in the space of 17 months.
Meanwhile, Adesanya recorded 11 title fights between April 2019 and September 2023, becoming one of the most active champions the sport has seen.
Even former UFC champion Daniel Cormier thinks it's time 'The Last Stylebender' took a break.
Aljamain Sterling is thrilled with the PPV buys that his fight with Sean O'Malley did
Aljamain Sterling and Sean O'Malley faced off in the main event of UFC 292 last month to decide the bantamweight champion.
'Sugar', who is of Irish descent, is one of the most popular fighters in MMA right now. The promotion aptly held the fight in Boston to draw in as many Irish fans as possible.
The pay-per-view sales from the fight card are yet to be released by ESPN, but Aljamain Sterling appears to be happy with the number of buys. 'Funk Master' shared during the aforementioned interview on The MMA Hour:
"I think we did pretty good on the PPV points. So I'm happy with that, setting the record for the most sold bantamweight title fight in history. It makes the bank account happy." [3:54-4:05]