There is a plethora of questions heading into Saturday’s epic UFC 300 card, and one of the more interesting mysteries on the preliminary card is what Aljamain Sterling is going to look like competing in a new weight class.
The former bantamweight champion lost his 135-pound title last summer when he was knocked out by Sean O’Malley at UFC 292. Sterling knew then his next fight would be at 145 pounds.
“I knew that was the last time I was going to be able to do that to my body,” Sterling told The JD Bunkis Podcast before his Saturday bout with Calvin Kattar. “I’m excited to go up to 145 and show these guys — I’ve been struggling with that weight cut for years, and I think it kind of showed internally.
“People always thought I looked great, but I always felt differently inside. Good poker face, but I think 145 is going to be able to show a lot more of what I can do in the cage.”
Sterling is 23-4 as a professional and his loss to O’Malley snapped a nine-fight winning streak.
“Age is definitely a factor,” the 34-year-old added in regards to the difficulties of cutting to 135. “I got a little more dense. My weight started to go up more noticeably after each fight, and turns out I got a good enough frame for 145.”
Kattar is coming off an 18-month layoff after injuring his knee in 2022. He is a talented striker who has lost three of his past four fights, all against top-ranked featherweights.
Sterling could shoot up the 145-pound rankings with a win over an established name like Kattar.
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