UFC champ Sterling looks ahead after TKO win

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight star Aljamain “Funk Master” Sterling has ended his well-deserved rest in Dubai following his dominant performance against rival T.J Dillashaw, which saw him successfully defend his title in a manner that was utterly breathtaking.

In the October 22 clash in Dubai, Sterling, 33, wasted little time in defending his belt as he secured a second-round technical knockout (TKO) as Dillashaw, who admitted to entering the fight with a shoulder injury, suffered a dislocated left shoulder less than 20 seconds in his fight. Sterling, however, stated that the pre-fight injury which Dillashaw said he had was just an “excuse”.

“You have to find an excuse after you (TJ Dillashaw) got dominated the way you got dominated. He must have thought he was that good, so I had to prove that he’s not as good as he thinks he is, and it’s just not his time any more. You could have given a guy octopus-like arms, he still would have trouble with me because anybody I take to the ground, that’s the same fate that they would get,” said Sterling, who was born in Uniondale, New York, to Jamaican parents, Cleveland and Sophia Sterling.

With the victory, Sterling, who is quickly becoming a must-see TV fighter, has improved his record to 22 wins from 25 fights, with his last defeat coming back in 2017 to Marlon Moraes. Sterling admitted that on the night of his fight, everything went as planned.

“The plan was to submit him. I put that on my year-end goal sheet - that I wanted to submit him in the second round. I feel like I’ve been in this division for a very long time, and since my third UFC fight, all of my other fights have been against fighters ranked in the top 15. I think now, my resume speaks for itself. I’ve fought the toughest competition you could put in front of me, and I’m going to keep my name in history books,” Sterling added.

The tough-talking champion is currently tied second for most wins in the bantamweight division that he feels is “stacked” with top fighters. For now, rather than thinking about his next opponent, Sterling feels that allowing his body to heal properly is his best option.

“There are no shortages of fighters right now, but I’m going to let the dust settle a little bit and let my body heal up. Maybe in the next two weeks I’ll start to look at the landscape and see where everything is and start to look at my year-end goals, along with the obstacles and challenges that I would want to overcome for the next outing,” he suggested.

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com