UFC champion Aljamain Sterling reveals plans to fight for second title after upcoming Henry Cejudo clash
Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is seemingly interested in attaining champ-champ status. Sterling is scheduled to defend his bantamweight belt against former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 on May 6th, 2023.
Ahead of the all-important matchup, Sterling revealed that he aims to compete for a second UFC title after beating Cejudo. In a recent interview with ESPN MMA's Megan Olivi, 'Funk Master' outlined his ideal path to UFC double champion status as well as his retirement.
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Aljo eyes double-champ status 💪 #UFC288 https://t.co/UEVi9L44Wj
Aljamain Sterling suggested that he'd like to defend his bantamweight (135-pound) title against Henry Cejudo and then against 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley. Sterling asserted that he'd then move up to the featherweight (145-pound) division.
He indicated that he'd like to face and beat the winner of the upcoming fight between UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and interim UFC featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez. 'Funk Master' added that he'd likely defend the featherweight belt once and could then possibly retire from MMA. Sterling stated:
"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."
Watch Sterling's interview below:
Thus far, only four fighters in UFC history have simultaneously held UFC titles in two separate weight classes.
These fighters include former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor, former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, current UFC women's bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes, and former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo.
Should Sterling manage to successfully defend his UFC bantamweight championship against Cejudo and O'Malley and move up to capture the UFC featherweight championship as well, it'd make him only the fifth simultaneous UFC double champion.
Aljamain Sterling aims to "smack" Henry Cejudo in the face for Khabib-like arrogance
Aljamain Sterling recently spoke to MMA Fighting and alluded to the fact that since Henry Cejudo has primarily been posting fight analysis/critique content on his YouTube channel since he retired in May 2020. Sterling claimed that ever since stepping away from the sport of MMA, Cejudo has been highly critical of his fellow fighters.
'Funk Master' drew parallels between Cejudo and Khabib Nurmagomedov, both of whom retired in 2020. Sterling implied that after retiring, the duo became too arrogant in their criticism of other fighters.
He speculated that Nurmagomedov probably doesn't realize that he's coming off as arrogant and might be doing it unintentionally. Regardless, noting that Cejudo is doing so intentionally, Aljamain Sterling explained:
"I feel like and I don’t know if he [Nurmagomedov] did that intentionally or he didn’t realize the way it was coming off. Henry’s doing that but I think it’s very intentional and deliberate and someone needs to smack him in the face."