The current scenario of the featherweight division is under quite a bit of public scrutiny. Alexander Volkanovski took control of the featherweight belt, and after that, he has been getting challenges from most featherweight aspirants to sit on the championship throne. And one of these aspirants was Yair Rodriguez. Unfortunately, the fight fans have taken a stance against this matchup. But what about the former bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling? Is he planning to claim a title shot and fight ‘The Great’?
For now, the rumor mills of the UFC world are churning the talks of Volkanovski’s rematch with Rodriguez. Their previous bout ended up with a third-round knockout win for the Australian. But after Rodriguez defeated Patricio Pitbull in his previous bout, he sent forth a challenge for the champion. Talking to MMA Junkie, the Mexican said, “Nobody (else) – I want to fight Volkanovski. It doesn’t matter whoever it is, I want to fight Volkanovski first. It doesn’t matter. The guy is good. Everyone is good in the division. It’s not a conversation about that. All my respect to him and everybody, not a problem with anyone. But why would I take another fight? The fight that I want is against Volkanovski, and that’s the only fight I’m willing to take.”
And the timeline for that is rumored to be at UFC Noche, which is known to feature Mexican stars moving up towards greatness. But as far as ‘Funk Master’ is concerned, he’s still a long way from the featherweight championship title. After losing the bout against Sean O’Malley and leaving the bantamweight division, Sterling fought Movsar Evloev in the featherweight division. However, that bout ended up with a loss via a unanimous decision.
So, who can the fighter from Cortland fight? It seems like he has decided that for himself. Taking to X, the former bantamweight champion called out three names—Arnold Allen, Brian Ortega, and Lerone Murphy. He wrote, “Anyone ready to go? I am ready for a test to follow my dreams. Let’s do this!” All we have to do now is wait for the three featherweights to respond and for Dana White and Company to seriously consider the matchups.
Arnold Allen
Brian Ortega
Lerone Murphy
Anyone ready to go? I am ready for a test to follow my dreams. Let’s do this!
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 31, 2025
But let’s tackle the elephant in the room. Does ‘Funk Master’ actually wish to fight the 2-time featherweight champion? And what does the Australian champ think of fighting the former bantamweight champion? Let’s find out!
Aljamain Sterling and Alexander Volkanovski weigh in on fighting each other
Not too long ago, a fan on X asked Sterling if he wanted to fight the loser of the fight between Volkanovski and Diego Lopes, or Pitbull vs. Rodriguez. But instead of showing the immense enthusiasm that he mostly does, Sterling replied with uncertainty in his mind. He replied, “I don’t even care at this point. I’m an equal opportunity backpack machine.”
Well, ‘The Great’ has also talked about fighting Sterling previously. Back in 2023, Volkanovski believed that Sterling could have sidelined Ilia Topuria and fought him. He said, “That’s not happening. You never know. If he had a big win, he could have took Ilia’s spot.” However, Sterling lost his bantamweight belt to ‘Suga’ and with that, he lost the chance to immediately get a fight against the featherweight champion.
Nevertheless, the rumors around the featherweight division are yet to be cleared. Will Volkanovski actually fight ‘El Pantera?’ Or will he get to tackle the undefeated star, Movsar Evloev? We don’t know yet. But what we do know is that Aljamain Sterling is set to display some impressive skills if he gets to fight the three names that he mentioned in his tweet.
What do you think of a matchup between Sterling and Volkanovski? Who do you think will get a bout against Sterling in his next UFC appearance? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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