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UFC champion gives update on retirement plans: “I said 32 when I was around 25”

Published

September 21, 2022

Aljamain Sterling Petr Yan arg UFC Frontkick Online

Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling defeated Petr Yan in his last appearance in the octagon. Photo: Jerry Lai Sports and Jeff Bottari USA Today Sports

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is 33 years old and still feels like he has more to give. On Twitter, the champion recently updated his fans on when they can expect him to retire from the sport.

“I said 32 when I was around 25. Still feeling good and still enjoying the game. Maybe 35? 36? Time will tell. Definitely before 40 years old,” Sterling wrote on Twitter.

I said 32 when I was around 25. Still feeling good and still enjoying the game. Maybe 35? 36? Time will tell. Definitely before 40 years old!

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) September 21, 2022

Aljamain Sterling faces T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280

Next up for Sterling is his second title defence against former two-time bantamweight king T.J. Dillashaw. They will clash in the co-main event at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. The card is one of the most stacked of the year and is topped by a lightweight title bout between former champion Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira and Islam Makhachev, who is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protoge.

Sterling won the bantamweight belt after Petr Yan got disqualified due to an illegal knee in their fight at UFC 259 in March last year. Most experts and fans believed that Sterling was way behind on the scorecards and thought Yan deserved to be the champion. However, in their rematch at UFC 273 in April, “Aljo” defeated his rival via split decision.

Aljamain Sterling is ranked No. 7 on the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings.

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