Aljamain Sterling is about to tackle Brian Ortega this weekend at UFC Battle Night time Shanghai within the co-main occasion of the cardboard. It’s a huge second in each males’s careers, and with Ortega ranked quantity 5 and Sterling ranked quantity seven within the Featherweight division, it could possibly be an enormous second that shapes the Featherweight division going ahead. With Lerone Murphy all however set to be the subsequent challenger to Alexander Volkanovski for the Featherweight belt, this combat may result in a primary contender bout for the winner of the bout.
This will probably be Sterling’s third combat at Featherweight. His first bout within the division noticed him defeat Calvin Kattar through unanimous choice in dominant vogue. His second combat within the division noticed him lose a detailed choice to Movsar Evloev in one of the vital entertaining fights of the yr. Sterling has an simple pedigree within the UFC, as his time within the Bantamweight division has proven. He was champion of the division and had three title defences, with wins over the likes of Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo. His time within the division has cemented his identify as one of many Bantamweight greats. Sterling is well-rounded, however grappling is the place he shines most. His second win in opposition to Petr Yan displayed that greater than some other combat, the place he was in a position to persistently safe physique triangles in opposition to Yan and management the combat, finally profitable the choice.
Ortega comes into this combat in a poor run of kind, with three losses in his final 4. He has solely fought 3 times since his September 2021 loss to Volkanovski because of recurring damage issues. His final combat in opposition to Diego Lopes noticed him lose through Unanimous choice, the place he was outclassed by Lopes on the ft. Ortega is a particularly proficient grappler, with eight of his 16 wins coming by the use of submission. His most up-to-date win in opposition to Yair Rodriguez confirmed that he nonetheless has his ending skill, as he received that combat through third-round submission. A win for Ortega can be large for his profession trajectory. If he can win this combat, it’s going to propel his identify again into the title image.
This combat will come all the way down to who can dominate the grappling exchanges. Each fighters are extraordinarily proficient on the bottom, so will probably be fascinating to see how they method this matchup. On the ft, anticipate Sterling to attempt to hold the gap together with his use of leg kicks, while Ortega will possible attempt to use his boxing to shut the gap and impose his grappling.
