UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has a close eye on his division, names potential title contenders in tournament bracket × Follow Us Create Notifications New User posted their first comment this is comment text Link Approve Reject & ban Delete Log in Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Gaming Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout MMA UFC News UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has a close eye on his division outlines tournament brackets for next title challenger By Johny Payne Modified 13 Aug 2022 Follow Us Comment Share Aljamain Sterling is laser-focused on protecting his bantamweight throne Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is seemingly keeping a close eye on the happenings in his division. Speaking of which, ‘Funk Master’ has now revealed which bantamweights he views as potential title contenders. In the latest edition of his podcast, The Weekly Scraps, Sterling referenced a pair of pivotal upcoming bantamweight bouts. One of those bouts was the much-awaited matchup between the No.5-ranked Marlon Vera and the No.8-ranked Dominick Cruz. Vera will face former UFC bantamweight champion Cruz in the headlining matchup at UFC San Diego on August 13. View this post on Instagram Instagram Post The other bout was the No.6-ranked Merab Dvalishvili’s matchup against the current No.3-ranked bantamweight and former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 278 on August 20. Sterling asserted that he views both aforementioned matchups as semi-finals in a tournament bracket. Addressing the Vera-Cruz clash, Sterling stated: “Whoever wins is next. I think it’s like a bracket. So, now they’re both in the semi-finals. I think you’ve got these guys [Vera and Cruz] on the semi-finals, and you’ve got Merab and Jose Aldo in the semi-finals. Whoever wins, looks more impressive – kind of like the Dana White Contender Series – whoever looks more impressive, they get the contract; whoever wins, gets a title shot.” Watch Sterling discuss the topic in the video below: Aljamain [email protected] got a tough tournament going on in the @UFC bantamweight division. Whoever comes out w/the most impressive dub, will probably get the next title shot!-Aldo - Dvalishvili Aug 20thVera - Cruz Aug 13thWho will shine the brightest from this bracket?youtu.be/GUs3OJKOMmQ563.We got a tough tournament going on in the @UFC bantamweight division. Whoever comes out w/the most impressive dub, will probably get the next title shot!-Aldo - Dvalishvili Aug 20thVera - Cruz Aug 13thWho will shine the brightest from this bracket?youtu.be/GUs3OJKOMmQ https://t.co/H1Zq48cWh0 When Aljamain Sterling teased a move to the UFC featherweight division to avoid fighting Merab Dvalishvili Aljamain Sterling has insinuated that the winner of the Dvalishvili-Aldo matchup could fight him for the UFC bantamweight title. However, Sterling will first have to defend it against former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280 on October 22. View this post on Instagram Instagram Post Speaking of the Dvalishvili-Aldo fight, Sterling’s latest insinuations appear to be in contrast to his previous assertions. ‘Funk Master’ had previously hinted at moving up in weight to pursue the UFC featherweight title in order to avoid fighting his friend Dvalishvili in a potential bantamweight title bout. Sterling said: "After Merab’s next win, I will probably have to move up, to allow him his chance that he earned, to make history for Georgia to win a world title. We will figure it out." Check out the Instagram post displayed below: View this post on Instagram Instagram Post Another interesting variable at play is that Dvalishvili recently teased a possible move down in weight. In an interview with Helen Yee, the Georgian fighter emphasized that he’ll never fight Sterling even if it’s for the bantamweight belt. Moreover, Dvalishvili claimed that he aims to beat Aldo in their bantamweight bout and would then probably move to flyweight to avoid fighting Aljamain Sterling. View this post on Instagram Instagram Post Poll : 0 votes Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Allan Mathew × Feedback Thank You! Be the first one to comment Follow Us Share Show More Comments GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ Be the first one to comment on this story More from Sportskeeda Fetching more content... 1 Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Gaming Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout No Results Found Get the free App now Manage notifications Popular ‍ Sports (30+) CricketCricket HomeCricket NewsScheduleIND vs SAAUS vs WIENG vs PAKLegends LeagueECC T10County ChampionshipBukhatir LeagueNZ T20 Tri-SeriesWomen's Asia Cup 2022Japan Cricket LeagueWI-W vs NZ-WECT10T20 World Cup FootballFootball HomeNewslettersSK Experts ScheduleEPLNations LeagueLa LigaLigue 1Champions LeagueFIFA WCMLS Bundesliga Serie A WWEWWE HomeNewslettersRumor RoundupRAWSmackDownResultsRosterChampionsWWE Extreme Rules 2022PPV ScheduleAEW EsportsEsports HomeMinecraftOverwatch 2RobloxGenshin ImpactFortniteGTAStreamersFree FirePUBGValorantBGMIPop CultureAnimeGaming TechWiki Guides TennisTennis HomeTennis calendarChina OpenTennis Results TodayATP RankingsWTA RankingsRoger FedererRafael NadalNovak DjokovicSerena Williams MMAMMA HomeUFC NewsONE ChampionshipUFC Fight NightScheduleRankingsResultsUFC Fights TonightONE Championship ResultsONE Championship ScheduleONE Championship Rankings KabaddiKabaddi HomePKL 2022PKL SchedulePKL Points TableKabaddi Rules WikiWiki HomeMinecraft WikiNaruto WikiTikTok WikiYoutube WikiGTA WikiTerraria WikiOne Piece Wiki MoreSportsBasketballIndian FootballNFLMinecraftFormula 1NascarPop CultureCollege FootballHockeyGolfAthleticsBadmintonGymnasticsWrestlingSwimmingTennisShootingBoxingArcheryWinter SportsRobloxSkateboardingKho KhoLifestyle LINKS About Us Write For Us Policies Editorial Standards Journalism Awards Fact Check Affiliate Program Careers CSR Privacy Policy Contact Us Edition: English हिन्दी