Aljamain Sterling Looking Forward To Title Fight After UFC 250 Submission Win

The talk ahead of last night’s UFC 250 pay-per-view card was that the winner of the bantamweight matchup between Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen would get the chance to face the winner of the upcoming Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo fight for the vacant UFC title.

Sterling entered the contest as the No. 2 ranked fighter in the official UFC rankings while Sandhagen came in at No. 4. Sterling was on a four-fight winning streak. Sandhagen was unbeaten in his seven previous fights.

Sterling didn’t take long to secure the win. He ended the fight via a rear-naked choke 88 seconds after the referee signaled the start of the contest. 

After Sterling’s win, UFC president Dana White said the promotion would keep the Yan vs. Aldo fight on the books, but he said Sterling would fight the winner of that bout. 

Sterling seemed happy to get the news.

“This is a very important moment for me,” Sterling said. “I worked so hard to get here and to get back to this position, I think this solidifies that I am the next guy who deserves the next title shot.”

“I’m trying to realize a dream. I can feel it. I can touch it, and that’s it. I’m on cloud nine, man. With all the craziness going on in the world, you know, this is my moment and definitely still want to pay some type of tribute to what’s going in America today,” Sterling added.

Yan is the No. 3 ranked fighter at 135 pounds. He has won his past nine fights. His most recent win was a third-round knockout of Urijah Faber. 

Aldo, who is the former UFC featherweight champion, dropped to bantamweight in late 2019. He lost his 135-pound debut to Marlon Moraes, who is the No. 1 ranked bantamweight, via split decision.

The UFC has not announced a date or location for the title fight between Yan and Aldo.

UFC 250 took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.