ALJAMAIN STERLING TEARS BICEP, UNLIKELY TO FIGHT HENRY CEJUDO IN MARCH

Inside Fighting

March 18, 2023

A partial tear in Aljamain Sterling’s bicep casts doubt on the March showdown with Henry Cejudo.

In a video posted to his YouTube channel, UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling revealed that his bicep is torn again – and it’s preventing him from taking the fight with Henry Cejudo.

“I don’t take Henry Cejudo lightly,” Sterling explained. “I need to make sure I have the grappling endurance to go 25 minutes with a guy like Henry … I’m already compromised going in … is it realistic for me to fight in March? I don’t really think it is.”

The showdown between Sterling and ‘Triple C’ has been rumored for months, but no official announcements ever came to fruition. Cejudo, Sterling, and Cejudo’s manager Ali Abdelaziz all stated that this was the next bantamweight championship fight – but Aljamain’s injury has put a stop to the proceedings.

Bantamweight finds itself with a bit of a logjam. Cory Sandhagen fights Chito Vera in February, with the winner positioned well for a title shot. Petr Yan is coming off a controversial split decision loss to Sean O’Malley – his second in a row after losing to Sterling at UFC 237 – and will likely need another win before getting a chance at the belt. Meanwhile, Sean O’Malley is the top contender – and promptly threw his name into the mix once Aljo revealed his injury.

Sterling didn’t give a timeframe for recovery from his injury, so it’s possible that the UFC sets up an interim title fight for O’Malley. Whether it’s against Henry Cejudo or the winner of Sandhagen vs. Vera remains to be seen – though ‘Suga’ hopes it’s against Vera, setting up what he thinks is the biggest fight at bantamweight.

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