Aljamain Sterling talks about his training with bantamweight legend Dominick Cruz

Aljamain Sterling revealed he recently trained with fellow bantamweight Dominick Cruz.

The ‘Funk Master’ is racking up training time with other ranked bantamweights. The current 135-pound UFC champion is a longtime training partner of number three-ranked Merab Dvalishvili and now finds himself working with number seven-ranked Cruz.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Sterling had this to say about training with the former bantamweight champion:

“I don’t think there’s any chance we’re gonna fight each other at this point in our career. I always said if I’m not going to fight the legends, I would like to train with them and learn from them. That’s the way I think you grow… That’s the way you grow, I think. Learning from the OGs of the game…”

Cruz lost his last fight by KO against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, which likely ended the 37-year-old’s chances of fighting for another UFC title. With that said, ‘The Dominator’ doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon. If he does decide to hang up the gloves, Sterling believes the former world champion should become a coach.

Watch Aljamain Sterling discuss training with Dominick Cruz below:

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Aljamain Sterling believes Dominick Cruz should be a coach

Dominick Cruz has already created a post-fighting career path by becoming a consistent UFC commentator. After training with Cruz, Aljamain Sterling thinks the former world champion should consider being a coach. ‘Funk Master’ had this to say during the same YouTube video:

“I thought it was very cool because I could see how and why he’s so good at the broadcast. He breaks down the situations. We’re talking [Henry] Cejudo. We’re talking my injuries that I’m currently dealing with. I even told him like afterwards, 'Dude, I think you should consider coaching. I think you would be a very, very good coach.'”

Sterling defended the UFC bantamweight title twice in 2022. The ‘Funk Master’ started by taking out Petr Yan and then defeating TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280. Going into 2023, it’s unclear who the 33-year-old American-Jamaican will defend his throne against next. The most likely options are Henry Cejudo or Sean O’Malley.

Despite Sterling's request for a longer layoff, rumors have emerged about Cejudo potentially getting the next title shot early in 2023.