Aljamain Sterling is struggling to keep his vices in check as he prepares for a highly anticipated featherweight debut.
After climbing to the top of the bantamweight division, the ‘Funk Master’ is ready for a new challenge. As announced by UFC CEO Dana White, Sterling will make his 145 debut at the promotion’s next big milestone event, UFC 300, scheduled for April 13, 2024. On that night, Sterling is scheduled to square off with Calvin Kattar. It will be Kattar’s first fight since suffering a torn ACL in the second round of his scrap with Arnold Allen in October 2022.
Speaking about his return to the Octagon via his YouTube channel, Aljamain Sterling admitted that the biggest struggle in his move to featherweight will be a never-ending desire to drink, smoke, and eat copious amounts of junk food.
“I do wonder how much I’m gonna blow up to after the fight,” Sterling said. “Whenever I do make 135, I’m almost… Just about the last five years, I’ve’ always hit 180. Like your body is holding onto everything and blowing back up so I do wonder if I’m going to do the same thing.
“I got a sweet tooth and even though I’m not only eating candies and chocolates, it’s almost like a bottomless pit. Like you can’t help yourself. You tell yourself to stop eating, but somehow your hands and legs are still moving toward the fridge. Your fingers are dialing DoorDash and Uber Eats. Somehow you’re still ordering food when you don’t want anything. It’s like a sickness.”
Aljamain Sterling is Struggling to Keep Up in the Gym After Months of Inactivity and Bad Choices
Though he is staying active in the gym, Sterling revealed that his cardio is severely lacking after he’s spent the last several months drinking, smoking, and packing on the pounds.
“Right now, I’m just tired,” Sterling added. “I do one to two rounds of striking and I’m exhausted. Also moving around and trying to do what I do when I’m lighter. Those eight to nine weeks of drinking every single day and hookah non-stop, staying up late at night, it definitely took a toll on my lungs so I still feel like I’m battling back and trying to regain all that.
“We sparred and I felt like I had a relatively solid day when I went with Julian Erosa. I did some good stuff, but there’s still some things I’m having trouble with because of the height difference. [Kattar] is 6’1” and fights at 145. There are gonna be some things I need to figure out where I was close to being the tallest guy at bantamweight. Now, you got Sean Woodson. You got Julian Erosa. Guys are like trees so I gotta figure out the game with that.
“Taking them down. Being able to maintain control for longer periods of time. Working the threshold and understanding all of that. That’s pretty much it.”
It’s certainly not the first time Sterling has indulged in fights. Nevertheless, he has remained one of the best athletes in mixed martial arts.
Since making his UFC debut in 2014, ‘Funk Master’ has amassed an impressive 15-4 record and was in the midst of a nine-fight win streak before being stopped by new bantamweight titleholder, Sean O’Malley, at UFC 292 in August.
“I’m hoping I can get to 160 [after weighing in at 145],” Sterling said. “I feel like if I get back up to what I normally get up to at 135, that’s going to be a problem. 160 I can do some damage.”
Watch the full video below:
