Aljamain Sterling on Daniel Cormier: ‘I’m Going To Send That Man A Text Message’

“The job is to win. What else am I supposed to do? He’s going to have to justify that.”

Author:
Justin Barrasso
Apr 19, 2024

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Aljamain Sterling dominates Calvin Kattar at UFC 300

Aljamain Sterling passed the audition.

Competing in his debut UFC featherweight fight, and the first time in that weight class since 2011, Sterling dominated Calvin Kattar at UFC 300. He controlled the bout from start to finish, landing four takedowns and fatiguing Kattar in the opening round with his grappling.

Sterling, 34, looked fresh and full of energy. He finished the fight with eight takedowns–the same number of significant strikes Kattar landed. This was one-sided from start to finish, with Sterling (24-4) clocking in at 10-minutes-and-43-seconds of control time, as opposed to only five seconds for Kattar.

“I felt I was just as strong, if not stronger, from a grappling standpoint,” said Sterling. “I thought the speed was apparent. I saw everything he was going to do, and I had the opportunity to shut everything down. Now it’s a chance to grow from here.”

undefined — Aljamain Sterling defeated Calvin Kattar at UFC 300

Zuffa LLC

Sterling, a former UFC bantamweight champion, admitted that the fight did not unfold as he envisioned.

“I thought Calvin was going to give me more,” said Sterling. This was the scariest fight for me in a very long time. It’s the most nervous I’ve been in the back, and for good reason. Calvin has done a lot of great work throughout his career, and it was a new weight class for me. Thankfully, we put in the work and got the job done.”

Unlike his last fight, where he hit 135 pounds at weigh-ins, the change to featherweight allowed Sterling to weigh in at 146 pounds–a less stressful cut from 174 pounds, which he normally weighs. And the victory immediately thrusts him into contention. Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway are both in line for title shots against undefeated champion Ilia Topuria, but that would change if Holloway moves to lightweight and challenges Islam Makhachev.

One more win–particularly if it comes against Brian Ortega or Movsar Evloev–should catapult Sterling into a title bout.

“If I win one more top-level fight, it will be hard to deny me,” said Sterling. “Calvin beat some good guys, and I shut him down. That should put me in the mix. I would imagine Holloway is going to aim to stay at 155, and maybe even step in for Dustin [Poirier] if he gets hurt before he fights Islam.”

On the broadcast, UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier credited Sterling for dominating the bout. Yet Cormier also noted that Sterling’s style from the fight adversely affected him. Unlike Kayla Harrison, who mauled Holly Holm on the same card in her UFC debut, Cormier explained that Sterling did not make a statement against Kattar.

“I’m going to send that man a text message,” said Sterling. “The job is to win. What else am I supposed to do? He’s going to have to justify that.”

Harrison was praised for dominating Holly Holm, and Cormier was right to highlight her performance. But a stark difference was that Holm committed a major mistake when she ran into the clinch, which Harrison capitalized with a reversal. Kattar, however, employed a far more cautious approach against Sterling.

“I understand it wasn’t the most barn burner of a fight, but it takes two to tango,” said Sterling. “Calvin didn’t really give me much to work with, and I felt like he fought more defensively than I did. He’s coming back from a long layoff and probably didn’t want to put himself in a position where he could be finished.”

There is no arguing about the result. It is tough to find too many positives for Kattar (23-8). The loss marked his third straight defeat. After returning from a torn ACL suffered in October of 2022, Kattar, 36, is now at a crossroads in his career.

For Sterling, a whole new world of opportunities opened. He returned to the win column for the first time since August, which is when he dropped the bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley. Ironically, that was a bout where Sterling fought a more exciting style, yet it proved to be costly.

“I tried to open up for the O’Malley fight, but I was reckless,” said Sterling. “I can’t make those kinds of mistakes and overextend. This one, people got to see how quick I can be on my feet, and that’s a result of properly preparing.”

In news that will likely disappoint fight fans, Sterling did not engage in his signature pre-fight locker room fight against teammate Merab Dvalishvili. Instead, Sterling matched up with a different teammate, Dennis Buzukja, as Dvalishvili shouted out nonstop encouragement.

“I warmed up more with Dennis, mainly because his size and frame made more sense to me,” said Sterling. “It wasn’t as brutal as the ones with Merab. Dennis has grown a lot. His grappling has come a long way. I didn’t beat him up too bad. It was a lot more pleasant to my training partner than it usually is.

“Merab was very vocal and called out feedback and a lot of words of encouragement. He was the positive reinforcement, and he made sure I was feeling good before that walk to the Octagon. It gets tense, the energy gets thick, but Merab was a calming presence.”

Sterling is now a featherweight contender. He will need another strong showing in order to earn a title shot, but he took a massive first step in that direction.

“I just need to keep getting better,” said Sterling. “And I’m not looking to wait too long. I want to be more active, especially if it’s three-round fights. I’m excited for my next opportunity.”