The UFC’s controversial bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, claims he has no regrets about the timing for his neck surgery, and looks forward to unifying the bantamweight title in 2022. Sterling underwent surgery around a month after claiming the title via DQ from Petr Yan, courtesy of an illegal knee. Due to the surgery, he has been unable to defend the title, with Yan fighting Cory Sandhagen for an interim title while Sterling recovers.
Aljamain Sterling told The Fighter and the Writer podcast that he is glad to have got the surgery when he could.
Aljamain Sterling Predicts 2022 Comeback, Title Unification Bout
“I couldn’t be happier with the decision I made.
To wake up, sleep, stand, and walk and not have constant radiating pain down my neck, it’s life-changing. The quality of life is so much higher. I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner, if I’m being honest.”
Although Sterling tried to recover within six months, and face Yan at UFC 267 this weekend, he ultimately had to accept that he won’t return to competition until next year.
“Just to clarify, I know a lot of people thought I was injured.
I’m not injured. I don’t know how many times that I can say those exact words. I’m not injured. I had a major neck surgery that just needed more time for the neurological stuff to get to where it’s supposed to be. It didn’t happen fast enough in six months.”
He also explained the issues he’d been facing leading up to the procedure.
“That’s what people don’t understand. It’s a neurological thing, not a physical thing. I look good. In terms of the pictures, you’d think that version of me would be ready to fight, but I just wasn’t ready.
Thankfully, I’m feeling so much better now, and I’m excited to watch this fight this weekend and get back out there to compete and see who I’m going to be competing against.”
As for the future, Sterling has an ambitious aim for 2022. When asked what the timeline for his return looks like, he was optimistic.
“I think January, February, March at the latest.
I really don’t want do anything later than that. I’m getting older and I want to capitalize on my youth. I would love to try to get three title fights in a year.
That means I would have to win the next one and then try to do three within a calendar year, which is a big feat, but I think if I can keep my body healthy, which now that I had this procedure taken care of, I can potentially do that.”
Do you expect Aljamain Sterling to unify the titles, or will the bantamweight division belong to Petr Yan once more? Let us know in the comments.
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