Aljamain Sterling has revealed that he was all set to welcome Frankie Edgar to the bantamweight division at UFC 244 in New York on November 2nd.
However, Sterling has been dealing with a wrist injury for a long time and it became so bad that the New York State Commission refused to allow him to fight and so he’s now pulled out of the fight and undergone surgery for the issue.
Read Sterling’s full statement giving more details on what’s happened below.
“For the last 2 years, I’ve been dealing with a Scapholunate ligament tear in my wrist,” Sterling wrote on Instagram. “Depending how bad you let the injury get can weaken/affect your grip strength, reduces the weight you can lift, the pressure you can put on it, and over time gets extremely painful to do daily activities, like washing my back and my ass! – I kept pushing through the injurys’ limits and telling the doctors that I would be fine with not getting surgery. ♀️
“Recently I was offered a HUGE fight, so I was going to push the limits again, despite having less strength than my left hand (I’m right-handed) to fight the legend, Frankie “The Answer” Edgar, at @thegarden!! – Unfortunately, the NYSAC wouldn’t approve me in time to fight at home for Nov. 2nd.
“Although the wrist pain got significantly worse from fighting Pedro Munhoz, I was really disappointed, but recognized that maybe this was Gods plan for me. I’ve been searching for clarity or a sign…maybe this was it… Either way, I was ready to risk it all again for a dream come true fight against a legend in my hometown!! I risked it before, right? So why not do it again, as my homecoming to FINALLY fight at home?! – That was my mindset and sometimes us fighters are our worst enemies. Us fighters NEVER fight at 100% anyway, which is why we are, who we are that live this life and do crazy shit that we do! All for a moment of glory, that could last a LIFETIME! Thank you to @seanshelby @danawhite and everyone on the @UFC medical team for taking care of me. And my manager, Lloyd, and girlfriend @rebeccacruise for coming and being here for me • #FunkStillGotNext! #RoadToRecovery #Surgery #Scapholunate #Ligament #UFC #ESPN #DrHotchkiss #NYC #HSS #LookAtTheFlickOfThatWrist #MSG #TheWeeklyScraps”
