Former UFC men’s bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is at a crossroads in his career. Following his narrow loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 310, Sterling doesn’t know if he should continue his career.
He’s 35, ranked No. 9 at 145 pounds, and suddenly staring up at eight fighters ahead of him in a promotion that hasn’t always held him in high regard—even when he was world champion at 135 pounds.
A very candid Sterling shared his thoughts in a video on his YouTube channel.
“When we were in the back room, Ray (Longo) had just stepped out, and I told the guys, I was like, ‘I’m going to let you guys know I don’t really know what I’m going to do from here,” Sterling said. “I need to let it settle a little bit, but at ’35, I don’t know if I really want to climb the ladder all over again.”
Sterling looked excellent in the fight. He held his own and had more than his share of moments. He especially felt like he could have gotten the nod for the third round. Sterling said he wants to fight Evloev again, but he’s still a bit worried about starting over.
“Do I continue, or do I just help out the guys and help them get ready for their fights and what not and maybe just take fun fights,” Sterling asked himself. “I don’t know. I don’t want to retire, but I’ve got to see what the UFC offers and then kind of make a decision to go from there to see where my positioning is. It’s tough to even talk like this because I’m only 35. I know people think I still look good and everything, but my body hurts. I can’t train the way I used to. I used to do two, three training sessions a day. I can’t do that anymore. Even the grappling sessions that I would do to make 135 pounds, I feel like I can’t do that anymore. I can’t train the way I used to and I don’t know if that gave me an edge or just broke my body down more, but that’s just where I’m at. I’ve just got to see where the chips fall and go from there.”
Here is a look at the entire video.
While it sounds like retirement is in the back or middle of Sterling’s mind, he ultimately doesn’t sound like a fighter who is ready to hang up his gloves. While he is 35, he’s still so clearly one of the elite fighters in the UFC.
We all knew Sterling was a world-class grappler, but he showed massively improved striking against Evloev. Most would agree Sterling got the better of the grappling exchanges, and aside from the second round when he found himself in Evloev’s crucifix, he largely out-grappled the Russian.
It was a tough way to lose, and therefore, it would be an even tougher fight to walk away from as the last time he climbs into the Octagon. Expect Sterling to get an offer to fight someone like Lerone Murphy or Yair Rodriguez whenever the latter is healthy enough to return to action.
Sterling will likely need to string losses together before he officially calls it a career.