Less than three years ago, mixed martial arts star Aljamain Sterling was on top of the bantamweight division. The Uniondale, New York, native of Jamaican descent defended his UFC bantamweight title for the fourth time against arguably his toughest opponent — future UFC Hall of Famer Henry Cejudo — by split decision (48-47, 47-48, and 48-47) in the main event of UFC 288 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. However, his next move sent his career spiraling downward.
A little over three months later, Sterling again put his title on the line against the popular Irish American competitor Sean O’Malley at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, in August 2023. For the champion, it would be enemy territory, and the luck of the Irish was with O’Malley: He knocked out Sterling in the second round. Sterling did not receive a rematch.
Instead, he returned to the featherweight division, which is 10 pounds heavier than the 135-pound limit of the bantamweight division, and has won three of his last four matches, including a dominant unanimous victory over Youssef Zalal (49-45 by all three judges) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. After his victory, Sterling, then ranked fourth in the division, challenged the reigning featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, and the no. 1 contender, Movsar Evloev.
“Put some motherf–king respect on my name when I say I’m next in line for that motherf–king title shot,” Sterling said. “Movsar [Evloev], I’m coming for that (ass) next: [Alexander] Volkanovski, you know I’m coming for that (ass).”
If Volkanovski and Evloev face off in a title match, Sterling could be in line to fight the winner.
Kicking off an action-packed month in combat sports on Saturday, undefeated Mexican American two-division boxing champion David Benavidez, who was nicknamed the “Mexican Monster” by Brooklyn icon Mike Tyson, will make the jump from 175 pounds to the cruiserweight division (under 200 pounds) in a Cinco de Mayo weekend clash.
He will face unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramírez on May 2 in the main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ramírez weighed 199.8 lbs in his last fight in June 2025, which makes the fight compelling to see if Benavidez can carry his power up this division.
The following Saturday, in Newark, New Jersey, Dominican UFC star Waldo Cortes-Acosta is scheduled to battle Alexander Volkov in the co-main event at UFC 328. A former minor league pitcher (2010–2012) with the Dominican Summer League Reds (an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds), Cortes-Acosta defeated MMA legend Derrick Lewis earlier this year.
The main event features undefeated UFC middleweight champion fighting former titleholder Sean Strickland.