It was introduced in late June {that a} featherweight bout between Brian Ortega and Aljamain Sterling would happen because the co-main occasion for the UFC’s anticipated return to China. The occasion, which is scheduled for August twenty third, is an important one for each athletes who’ve sturdy causes for desirous to win it. For Sterling, specifically, that is his probability to ascertain himself as a title contender in a brand new weight class.
From bantamweight champion to featherweight challenger
Having conquered the 135-pound division as a former bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling moved as much as the featherweight division final yr after surrendering his title to Sean O’Malley. His foray into this new weight class began off fairly properly with a choice win over Calvin Kattar earlier than shedding to the undefeated Movsar Evloev in December 2024.
This combat towards Brian Ortega is a big one for Sterling, who’s seeking to place himself at a better rating and as a possible championship winner.
Ortega can also be seeking to keep related within the featherweight title image. He’s challenged for the title twice towards Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski, however was unsuccessful on each events. He’s coming in with a 1-3 report over his final 4 appearances, so the stakes are simply as excessive for him.
How Sterling’s combat types squares up towards Ortega
Sterling’s method is a mixture of wrestling and placing. And his bodily energy is among the greatest within the division. Ortega, alternatively, is thought to be a harmful submission specialist with spectacular placing abilities. Their combat types recommend a aggressive and thrilling matchup, particularly if it hits the bottom, since each have efficient grappling abilities.
Preventing types are a significant component figuring out how a combat goes to play out. SportyTrader all the time considers this and different stats to reach on the most correct forecasts. You may take a look at SportyTrader for early predictions on Ortega-Sterling and different UFC skilled picks for tonight.
Match particulars
This occasion will mark the fourth one held in mainland China and the eighth total in Better China. It’s additionally the primary UFC occasion held in China since 2017 and is scheduled to happen on the Shanghai Indoor Area within the Xuhui District. Ortega-Sterling is the co-main occasion on the combat card. Headlining the UFC combat night time is the sunshine heavyweight bout between Jonhhy Walker vs Zhang Mingyang. It begins at 11:00 AM UTC on Saturday, August twenty third 2025.
Sterling is touted because the favorite to win resulting from his bodily energy and mixture of methods. However as we’ve talked about, that is an equally necessary combat for Ortega, so each will likely be coming in extremely motivated. That is undoubtedly an important match to mark the UFC’s return to China.
