- Aljamain Sterling talked about the medical history and current condition of his brain prior to his next title fight
- “Funk Master” revealed that he isn’t cleared to compete in New York to this day
Ahead of his next title fight at UFC 288, reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling made a shocking revelation about his brain condition. Aljo said there’s nothing serious about his health but he’s not yet cleared to compete in New York City.
There’s nothing to worry about
Speaking to The MMA Hour, “Funk Master” opened up about the medical history of the “spots” found on his brain. Sterling said it dates back to his UFC debut in 2014 but experts have concluded there’s nothing to worry about. However, the commission in New York has yet to clear him to compete professionally in their state.
“When I made my UFC debut, February 22, 2014, I’m a vet man, at UFC 170, the Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann card, I believe. I had to get a CAT scan, first time ever getting a CAT scan. They found two spots on my brain, they were like a millimeter or something like that. But, it looked like there was trauma, and they weren’t sure what it was. I forget the exact term, aneurysm or angioma or something like that,” Sterling began.
“In order for me to be cleared, I would’ve had to like go take it out of my head. So, I wasn’t sure if I needed to get like drilled in my head to pull these things out. So they monitored it, they allowed me to fight in Nevada. And it has to be monitored every six months, every year. A couple years after they realized, nothing was happening. They were like, ‘Okay, you’re safe. You’re not bleeding out, you’re not going to die in the cage.’ Knock on wood! So things were good, and I was allowed to compete in Nevada and all the other states except New York,” the champ continued.
Aljo won’t be around for too long
Sterling will try and defend his bantamweight title for the third time when he faces returning former champ-champ Henry Cejudo this weekend. He thinks that a win over “Triple C” will make him the rightful bantamweight GOAT but he doesn’t see himself ruling the division for a longer period of time.
Instead, Aljo is eager to move up to the featherweight division sooner rather than later and leave the 135-pound division to No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili.
UFC 288 will take place on May 6 at the Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey.
Aljamain Sterling on why he can't compete in New York.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/SMMu29Wzj6
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 1, 2023
