Aljamain Sterling had to pull out of a fight with Movsar Evloev at UFC 307 on October 5th recently due to suffering a low-grade tear in his elbow, and now he’s targeting Diego Lopes as a potential next opponent if his original fight isn’t rescheduled.
“Maybe Diego Lopes?” Sterling said when asked by ‘The Schmo’ about a different opponent. “Maybe that will be a battle for the [No.] 3 [ranking]. I think Diego rising to stardom, his rise in the sport in the UFC has been huge and nothing short of inspiring, to be honest. I’m happy for the guy…
“If we’re talking the next best fight, if Movsar declines, I just don’t know who else would he fight? But if you give me the option, I always wanted Brian Ortega so I could get the closest spot to the top, and now that next closest guy is Diego Lopes. That’s all it is. It has nothing to do with what this guy did, it’s the name value, what it gets me, risk vs. reward. If I’m going to risk it for the biscuit, that’s the guy I’d risk it for.”
Sterling says he’s hoping to be healed up and ready to fight by the end of the year, and is still open to the possibility of fighting Evloev.
“I’ve got to stay in shape in case Movsar does decide to take the fight for December. I don’t want to be starting camp with no cardio whatsoever. I want to make sure I’m building and keeping that momentum so that if we’re ready to go for December, whether it’s him or somebody else, I’ll be in shape and ready to get in there.”
Sterling hopes to be healed and ready to fight by December and is still open to fighting the undefeated Evloev
