Aljamain Sterling is fresh off a win and already has his sights set on his next opponent under the UFC banner inside of the Octagon.
Sterling was able to score a kneebar victory over Cody Stamann in the second round of their bantamweight bout at the UFC 228 pay-per-view event, which went down on Saturday, September 8, 2018 in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center.
Following the fight, Sterling made it clear that he wants a fight against former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. As for the reason, he seems Cruz as a legend and a suitable step up in competition.
“Let’s just day Cody wasn’t as flexible as Renan Barao tonight.” Sterling said backstage after the bout (transcript courtesy of MMAJunkie). “I heard his knee pop, and I thought he was going to fight through it. Because I know what it is, that outside ligament gets popped, the LCL, it might even be the PCL (or) ACL. Who knows? It’s just one of those freaky submissions, man. It’s a kneebar.”
“In a perfect world, Dominick Cruz gets it next,” Sterling said. “I take him out, submit my name as the next guy in line to challenge for the belt, and I think I’ve got all the tools to become a world champion. I really do. I can strike with anybody, I think I’m very hard to hit, you see the strike differential in offense and defense, and I’m a nightmare on the ground. If I get these hooks in, if I get on your back, I’m attacking submission after submission after submission. So off my back, on top, you pick your poison.”
Cruz has gone on record by stating that he is ready to get back inside of the Octagon after suffering his first loss in over eight years at UFC 207 by losing the title to Cody Garbrandt in a highly-entertaining affair. Garbrandt has since lost the title to TJ Dillashaw.
If you recall, the former champion was expected to return to action last December. However, that was not meant to be as he was forced out of a UFC 219 showdown with Jimmie Rivera due to a broken arm. Time will tell whether this bout gets booked.
