Aljamain Sterling explains postponing Movsar Evloev fight because of lesson learned from Sean O'Malley loss

Aljamain Sterling recently explained why he postponed his fight against Movsar Evloev, citing Sean O'Malley as a factor. Sterling said that, like his title fight with O'Malley, he will not return to the octagon hastily, despite Evloev's antics of trying to get him back earlier than planned.

Sterling will square off against Evloev in a featherweight clash at UFC 310, which will take place on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena. The two were previously scheduled to meet inside the octagon at UFC 307 however, an injury sustained during training forced the American to withdraw from the fight.

Ahead of UFC 310, Sterling posted a video on his YouTube channel discussing his octagon comeback. The 35-year-old disclosed he requested another month to prepare for the Evloev clash. The former bantamweight champion claimed that although the Russian was pressuring him to make a quick return, he preferred to do so on his terms and only when he was fully ready. 'Funkmaster' does not want to make the same error as he did against O'Malley. He said:

''I asked for ironically an extra month because Movsar was trying to push me to come back sooner than I wanted to and I told him, you know I'm not going to do that again I learned my lesson from the last fight which was my loss to O'Malley and I told myself, I'll never let somebody push me into corner over money again...now when I compete it's on my terms, it's when I feel like coming back and it's when I feel good mentally good.''

Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below (4:01):

Sterling's reign as bantamweight champion ended with a second-round knockout loss to O'Malley at UFC 292 last year. Following his title loss, he stepped up to featherweight to face Calvin Kattar at UFC 300, winning by unanimous decision.

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Merab Dvalishvili issues strong warning to Movsar Evloev ahead of Aljamain Sterling clash

Aljamain Sterling sparred with his longtime friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili to get ready for the Movsar Evloev bout at UFC 310, as Evloev is one of the best grapplers in the featherweight division.

In a video posted on Sterling's YouTube channel, Dvalishvili opened up about his sparring sessions with Sterling sending a stern warning to Evloev, claiming that 'Funk Master' will dominate the Russian in their contest this weekend. He said:

''Now [Sterling] did a bunch of jiu-jitsu rounds, too. He did two rounds with me. I couldn't do anything. He was on top of me, controlling me, smashing me. That means that Aljo is going to smash his opponent [at UFC 310]. Even though his opponent is really good, I have so much respect for Movsar Evloev.''

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below (3:46):