UFC veteran Matt Brown believes Aljamain Sterling’s time as UFC bantamweight champion won’t be long. Matt Brown argued that returning former two-division champ Henry Cejudo, widely expected to be Sterling’s next opponent, will take the belt from Sterling, on a recent episode of The Fighter vs The Writer.
“I wasn’t sure that fight was going to happen. You hear Cejudo talking all the time. He’s always saying some s*** about coming back or fighting this guy. He likes to talk. So I didn’t think that fight was going to happen, so I would certainly put him down as the biggest threat [at bantamweight]”
Matt Brown Backs Cejudo to Dethrone Aljamain Sterling
Sterling’s run as champ has been more than a little bizarre, even by MMA standard. Sterling won the belt via disqualification, claiming the title when Petr Yan landed an illegal knee to his head while Sterling was on the ground. Sterling’s first defense was a controversial decision win against Yan, and his most recent defense came against former champ T.J. Dillashaw, who was virtually crippled by a shoulder injury before he even set foot in the Octagon.
Matt Brown believes that Henry Cejudo will defeat Sterling “relatively easily.” “I think Cejudo beats Aljamain pretty soundly. I think [Cejudo’s] got tremendous boxing, amazing wrestling. I don’t think Aljamain’s going to be able to get him down. I think he’s just got better boxing, better standup. He’s very disciplined with his standup. He stays tight and strong.
I’m going to go with Cejudo on that. I think he beats him relatively easily. Cejudo, I’m picking very soundly to win that fight [against Sterling].”
Another top contender, widely expected to fight for the title by the end of the year, is rising superstar “Suga” Sean O’Malley. With O’Malley now occupying the no.1 ranking in the bantamweight division, it’s likely that he will fight for the title in the near future. Matt Brown believes Henry Cejudo will take O’Malley out, too.
“If we’re talking about champion at the end of the year, I’m going to go with Cejudo. He beats Aljamain and he destroys Sean O’Malley.”
Despite his bold claims, Brown also pointed out that the 135-pound division is arguably the most competitive in the UFC, with elite fighters throughout the rankings as well as the ranking-adjacent numbers.
“There’s so much talent in this division. You could look at the top 25 guys and there’s guys that could come up and make a splash. What a great division.”
Do you agree with Matt Brown? Let us know in the comments.
