Aljamain Sterling cruised to victory in lopsided fashion in his fight against Brian Ortega, but it turns out disaster nearly struck late in the five-round co-main event.<\/p>\n
Following his unanimous decision win where he swept every judges\u2019 scorecard, Sterling revealed that he actually suffered a significant elbow injury that had him panicking about giving up a potential comeback to Ortega. While he persevered and came through with the win, Sterling admits he got a little scared about what might happen following that sequence but thankfully he was able to keep his wits about him before turning to his grappling to maintain his control in the fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat last elbow I landed in round four, I really couldn\u2019t even keep my arm up to defend myself,\u201d Sterling revealed during the UFC Shanghai post-fight show. \u201cWhen he came after me, I was like this is like a living nightmare right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I can\u2019t even do anything other than circle, and hopefully he makes a mistake, which he did and allowed me to take his back and get him down.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Sterling acknowledged he was dealing with some issues before his fight on Saturday, the elbow injury definitely happened during that fourth round.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis for sure happened in the fight,\u201d Sterling said about his elbow injury. \u201cIt showed right away in that fifth round.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the elbow problems plaguing him, Sterling pitched a shutout while displaying some strong striking skills throughout the fight.<\/p>\n
The matchup, which was originally scheduled at featherweight, ended up as a catchweight bout after Ortega struggled getting down to 146-pounds for the non-title fight. That led to the fight taking place at 153 pounds, but Sterling didn\u2019t allow Ortega\u2019s weight cutting issues give him any false confidence heading into the fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been in that position before where he was deathly on the scale and then he comes out and has a great performance,\u201d Sterling said. \u201c\u2018The Korean Zombie\u2019 [Chang Sung Jung] was one of those performances where he looked like a masterclass boxer and then he knocked him out with the back elbow at the end, right? I knew he was going to be game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew there was only one reason he wanted it to be five rounds and that was to get me in the later rounds because I\u2019ve shown in the past to fade a little bit. But I was also cutting a tremendous amount of weight getting down to [135 pounds]. I still slowed down a bit but I had some stuff coming into this and thankfully, god was on my side and I was able to get the job done despite all the circumstances coming into this fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he did show off his wrestling and grappling at moments, Sterling largely won the fight on the feet, which was his way of serving yet another reminder that he\u2019s got plenty of weapons in his arsenal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was happy I got to show off my striking,\u201d Sterling said. \u201cGuys think I can\u2019t box, they think I can\u2019t kick. They think my striking is complete [crap]. I fight unorthodox because I like to take as little damage as possible. These guys come into the fights, they want to actually get into a back and forth fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here to win. I\u2019m here to dominate. I\u2019m here to make it look easy and if that makes you think I can\u2019t strike, then step in there with me and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following his win, Sterling called for a title fight opportunity against reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.<\/p>\n
As unlikely as it seems that wish is granted, especially with Sterling just getting back on track following a loss to Movsar Evloev in his previous outing, the New York native isn\u2019t losing hope.<\/p>\n
In fact, Sterling pitched himself as a perfect alternative to Lerone Murphy, who seems like the most likely candidate to get the next shot at Volkanovski\u2019s belt after he delivered a devastating knockout to finish Aaron Pico at UFC 319.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised if [Volkanovski] fights Lerone next,\u201d Sterling said. \u201cThat was a great fight for him. In terms of his performance, I think Lerone has earned it, but if the UFC wants to throw my hat in there, I\u2019m not going to say no if they give me an opportunity. They\u2019ve done that for many guys in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut with that said, we\u2019re both two old dogs, I\u2019m 36, Volkanovski\u2019s 36. It\u2019s like let two old unc\u2019s get after it. Lerone, he\u2019s got some time, he\u2019s got some youth, me and [Volkanovski], why not?\u201d<\/p>\n