Aljamain Sterling unsure of Henry Cejudo fight in March due to torn bicep tendon
Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling may not be ready to return to action as expected due to injury. On Tuesday, Sterling announced on his podcast ‘The Weekly Scraps’ that a potential fight between he and Henry Cejudo, that was discussed to take place in March, may not happen because he has a partially torn bicep tendon.
The injury is not new for Aljamain Sterling, who added that he’s mentioned it before and after his last two fights. The current concern is if he will be able to train and compete while dealing with the injury, or if he will need to take more time off and give it time to heal.
I did misspeak. It’s not fully torn like I did in 2016. This is a partially torn bicep tendon that been buggin me for almost a year now https://t.co/qdhqznwcWD
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) January 10, 2023
“The fight is supposed to be myself and Henry Cejudo, I think that’s all said and done. It’s whether or not I can compete with this torn bicep or not, going through another training camp with a torn bicep.”
While addressing the style of wrestling that Cejudo brings compared to his last opponent TJ Dillashaw, Sterling discussed how he will need to be healthy and properly prepared for all challenges Cejudo may bring.
“I’m going to need this bicep to compete at 100% and I don’t take Henry Cejudo lightly. Even though I did lay out all the ways I can win and do that for 25 minutes, I got to make sure I’m in shape and it’s hard to get in shape when I have this thing compromising me the whole time.”
As he continued on, Aljamain Sterling would go on to say that he doesn’t think it is really realistic for him to compete in March against Cejudo, given the injury and where it currently stands. Giving respect to the former flyweight and bantamweight champion, Sterling knows he’ll have to be in top-notch condition when they meet inside the cage with the undisputed title on the line.
Now with a potential Sterling vs Cejudo fight pushed back, it’ll be interesting to see if the UFC chooses to make an interim fight with top contender Sean O’Malley waiting in the wings. There is also the potential they could raise the stakes for the upcoming Marlon “Chito” Vera vs Cory Sandhagen fight which is set to take place on February 18 at the UFC Apex.
