"You can't hit what you can't touch" - Aljamain Sterling promises Max Holloway-like performance against Calvin Kattar in 145-pound debut
Aljamain Sterling has set high expectations for his UFC 300 featherweight debut.
After a decorated career as a bantamweight, Sterling is expected to make his 145-pound debut in the Octagon against Calvin Kattar on April 13. In the weeks leading up to the fight, Sterling has documented portions of his fight camp on his YouTube channel, including a sparring video breakdown released on March 29 with the former champion stating he desires to emulate Max Holloway's performance against Kattar.
Sterling said:
"When I get my hands on Calvin, it's gonna be a very [surprising performance]. A lot of people are saying that if O'Malley was able to put me out, what is a bigger guy gonna do that hits harder? I always say you can't hit what you can't touch, and I think that's gonna be the name of the game. I'm gonna try to make it look as close to the Max Holloway fight as possible."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below:
The performance from Holloway Sterling references came back in 2021 when 'Blessed' shattered his record by landing 445 significant strikes on Kattar throughout five rounds. Holloway would not be able to finish Kattar but received a 50-43 scorecard from two judges and 50-42 from the third while landing 312 more significant strikes, another UFC record.
Sterling recognized that he was not at the same level of striking as Holloway but noted his belief that his cardio and movement would be elevated in his next fight due to not being forced to make the weight cut down to 135 pounds that he recalled as 'near-death.'
Watch the full video from FunkMasterMMA on YouTube below:
Aljamain Sterling's history at featherweight
Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will be fighting at featherweight for the first time in the UFC on April 13 but has competed in the weight class before. Per Tapology, Sterling has fought in the division once before, defeating Evan Chmieleski by TKO in his fourth professional fight.
The fight was Sterling's only bout at 145 pounds before his UFC 300 matchup with Calvin Kattar and took place under the Cage Fury Fighting Championship banner, a promotion that Sterling competed for five times.
'The Funk Master' entered the UFC as the CFFC bantamweight champion in 2014 and tore through the division until gaining the undisputed belt at the highest level in 2021.
In December 2023, Sterling returned to CFFC to compete in a submission grappling match with Fury Pro Grappling, losing a controversial decision to Kevin Dantzler.