Aljamain Sterling slated to make featherweight debut against Calvin Kattar at UFC 300
It appears former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (23-4) won’t be sticking around at 135 lbs, as he’s expected to make his featherweight debut opposing no. 7 ranked Calvin Kattar (23-7) at UFC 300.
UFC 300 is to go down on April 13, 2024, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This is to be Sterling’s first fight since losing the title to current champion Sean O’Malley in August, and it will be Kattar’s first fight since October of 2022 where he tore his knee in defeat to no. 3 ranked Arnold Allen.
Going into his fourth title defense, Aljamain Sterling was on a nine-fight win streak that saw him defeat the likes of 15-0 former Cage Warriors and Titan FC bantamweight champion Brett Johns (UD), former TXC featherweight champion Cody Stamann (Suloev stretch), former ROC and CFFC bantamweight champion Jimmie Rivera (UD), former RFA bantamweight champion Pedro Munhoz (UD), and current no. 4 ranked former SCL featherweight champion Cory Sandhagen (rear naked choke).
The Sandhagen performance got him a title shot, where he controversially defeated then champion Petr Yan via disqualification to claim the title. He won the rematch with Yan via split decision before TKO’ing former two-time bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. Next Sterling defeated former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo via split decision to make the third defense of his title.
Now, following his first loss in nearly six years, Sterling aims to replicate that success up at 145 lbs, beginning with a win this spring.
Calvin Kattar hasn’t won more than two-straight since making his UFC debut back in 2017, where he’d win his first and second promotional bouts against Andre Fili (UD) and Shane Burgos (TKO). A defeat to Renato Moicano (UD) would soon follow, before defeating former Cage Warriors lightweight champion Chris Fishgold (TKO) and former featherweight title challenger Ricardo Lamas (KO).
Kattar next lost to former ACB featherweight champion Zabit Magomedsharipov (UD), before again winning two-straight, those victories coming over Jeremy Stephens (KO) and Dan Ige (UD). Next he was completely dominated by former featherweight champion Max Holloway (UD), before he shut down Giga Chikadze (UD) in his next bout, both five-round affairs, as was his Ige fight.
Since then, however Kattar has lost two-straight, one coming to no. 6 ranked former interim title challenger Josh Emmett (SD) in their five-round main event, and the next, as mentioned above, coming to Arnold Allen (TKO) in their main event.
Each of these talents have gone five rounds a number of times, and each are looking to get back to their winning ways with a big victory at UFC 300.
UFC 300 fight card below:
Jiri Prochazka vs Aleksandar Rakic
Aljamain Sterling vs Calvin Kattar
Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage
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