Aljamain Sterling has history in his sights and a second UFC title within reach as he returns to action at UFC Vegas 116 on Saturday night, determined to leave no doubt in his featherweight clash with Youssef Zalal.
After reflecting on past hesitation in key moments when fighting opponents that he’s friendly with, Sterling enters this bout with a renewed mindset, one focused on seizing an opportunity to secure a statement finish and move closer to a showdown with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
“It’s not easy. I had to do it with Brian Ortega, and that was a little weird one for me,” Sterling told reporters on Wednesday.
“Even when I had him hurt with the right hand in round 2 I kind of pulled back. He said I poked him in the eye and I said dude that was a punch man. I took my foot off the gas because I like the guy. I like Youssef too, but if I get him hurt I don’t plan to make that mistake again and just go out there and get the finish. I’m trying to make history, trying to win a second belt, trying to fight the legend the OG in (Alexander) Volkanovski.”
Sterling (25-5) pointed to the differences in experience and mindset between himself and Zalal when breaking down the matchup. Confident in the path he’s taken to reach the top of the sport, he made it clear he believes that edge will be a deciding factor on fight night.
“Youssef is good, but sh*t man I’ve been doing this for a very long time. I didn’t have to get cut and make my way back. He did, he had to dig deep to do that, and I think it’s two different type of mental attitudes, right? He could have went to the regional circuit, maybe lost and packed it up, but he decided to come back,” he said.
“I’ve been knocked down, been knocked out, built myself back up and here I am today. I’ve become a world champion at the bantamweight division. I got the most wins in bantamweight history. I didn’t get here by accident. This is no cakewalk for Youssef Zalal and if he thinks it’s going to be easy, he’s got a rude awakening coming this Saturday. I’ve got to break him, simple as that.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Aljamain Sterling above. He headlines UFC Vegas 116 opposite Youssef Zalal on Saturday night.
