Aljamain Sterling Confident of Beating Ilia Topuria: “Make it a grappling match”

The former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling can see a way where he can gain victory over Ilia Topuria. Sterling was wise enough to identify how striking alone wouldn’t do the job. Instead, his approach indicates neutralizing offense by involving more grappling. That’s a smart thing to say, as everyone saw in Robert Whittaker’s case – he was all prepared and fired up for a battle but got out grappled by Khamat Chimaev in ways he couldn't image. It's the sport of MMA, having a blend of striking and grappling is crucial in a winning fight. 

Aljo is a rising featherweight contender, a win against Movsar Evloev could get him the next title shot. 

Aljamain Sterling on facing Ilia Topuria  

In a recent YouTube video, Aljamain Sterling shared his thoughts on facing Ilia Topuria and explains how he could beat him. 

“If I were to fight him, God willing I beat Movsar and I do get the crack, I do think I have a great style to neutralize his offense,” Sterling said, as quoted by mmajunkie.usatoday.com. “Bro, most of these guys are striking with him. I ain’t doing that. We’re sitting here looking for our takedown, and we’re going to have to make it a grappling match. 

I’m trying to get the W. I’m not trying to get my head and my brain sent to the next dimension again. I’m good on that. But I think it’s cool that people were even mentioning that. I think that would be a crazy match for multiple reasons. But I’ve got one other tough opponent in front of me, and then we’ll kind of go from there”.