Aljamain Sterling has been forced to cancel his planned featherweight bout against Movsar Evloev at UFC 307.
The former bantamweight champion announced the news on YouTube on Wednesday.
“I regret to inform you that I will not be competing in UFC 307 in Salt Lake City,” Sterling said. “I suffered a non-surgical injury while sparring, but the UFC medical staff has advised me that due to the delays in my recovery, I will not be able to compete in the fight.”
“I did stem cell treatments. I took time off. I tried to rehabilitate as much as I could,” she said. [UFC Performance Institute]
“I am involved with this team and unfortunately it is no longer in my hands. I apologise to Mobsar and his team. We have been in discussions and I was really looking forward to punching this guy in the face.”
Sterling did not disclose the extent of the injury, but MMAFighting.com reports that “The Funkmaster” withdrew from the bout due to an elbow injury. Sterling suggested Evloev wait until later in the year before UFC rebooking the bout.
“Mobsar, if you still want to punch this handsome face, I’m throwing down the gauntlet to postpone the match and wait,” Sterling said, “Hold on dad, I’ll be back soon. Maybe in December. That’s all I can do.”
“If you decide not to wait, I respect that, because you want to fight for the belt just as much as I do, and the only way to get there is for us to both push forward.”
But Evloev would like to remain in the bout against an alternate opponent on October 7, if possible.
“I saw Aljamain announce on his YouTube channel that he won’t be competing,” Evloev wrote to X. “I [four]
“I want to stay on this card for many months and fight whoever I want. I don’t know if the UFC will be able to find someone to fight me, but I’ve trained really hard for this fight.”
I saw Aljamain announce on his YouTube channel that he is not going to fight. I have been training for four months and I want to stay on this card and fight whoever I want. I don’t know if UFC will be able to find someone to fight me, but I have trained really hard for this fight.
— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC)
September 18, 2024
Sterling made his 145-pound debut at UFC 300 on April 13, defeating Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision.
Evloev is undefeated in 18 professional fights and has won eight consecutive UFC bouts by decision. The 30-year-old Russian boxer is most recently coming off a three-round decision victory over Arnold Allen at UFC 297.
