135lb Champ Aljamain Sterling May Move Up So Merab Dvalishvili Can Fight For Title

Current UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has made a surprising declaration on social media that he may be willing to move up to featherweight in the near future in order to allow his long-time teammate Merab Dvalishvili to fight for the belt.

The 32-year-old Sterling made the claim after being asked about the possibility of him fighting Dvalishvili, who is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak in the division that’s taken him to the No.6 sport on the 135lb ladder.

“After Merab’s next win, I will probably have to move up, to allow him his chance that he earned, to make history for Georgia to win a world title,”
Sterling wrote. “We will figure it out.”

Sterling is also on a seven-fight unbeaten stretch and only recently successfully defended his title for the first time in a rematch with previous champion Petr Yan, beating him by split decision.

As things stand the ‘Funk Master’ doesn’t yet have a confirmed opponent for his next fight, although there has been talk that he may fight No.2 ranked former champion TJ Dillashaw who is still recovering from a knee surgery last year, although he has also signalled an interest in fighting other leading contenders like the No.3 placed Jose Aldo instead.

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.