Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has revealed that a bicep injury is the reason that he’s been reluctant to commit to a title fight against former double-champion Henry Cejudo that had been rumored as a possibility for UFC 285 in March.
“It’s whether or not I can compete with this torn bicep again,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “Going through another training camp with a torn bicep, against a guy who is stronger in the wrestling department, who will use his wrestling more. I’m going to need this bicep to compete at 100%. And I don’t take Henry Cejudo lightly.
“Is it realistic for me to fight in March? I don’t think it really is.”
The fight between the two was never made official and there’s always been some doubt as to whether Cejudo would definitely be the challenger, as Sean O’Malley had briefly appeared to be the UFC’s preferred choice to begin with after his upset split-decision win over Petr Yan in October.
O’Malley remains without a fight, so there’s always the potential for an interim title bout against Cejudo instead, but at this stage it’s more likely that Sterling vs. Cejudo will be made as long as the champion doesn’t remain out of action for too much longer.
