Aljamain Sterling predicts Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov, claims Dagestani could "cook" should fight go to the ground

Aljamain Sterling recently weighed in on the upcoming UFC on ABC 7 main event between Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov. He shared his thoughts on the potential bantamweight title eliminator and predicted who he believes will get their hand raised.

Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov has major implications as both look to make a strong argument for a title shot, while the Dagestani will also look to keep his unbeaten record intact. It is a very intriguing matchup as 'Sandman' will likely attempt to keep the fight on the feet, while 'Young Eagle' will attempt to utilize his grappling and wrestling.

During his appearance on today's episode of The MMA Hour, the former bantamweight champion highlighted 'Young Eagle's' wrestling as a potential area of concern for Sanhagen. Sterling mentioned that if Nurmagomedov is successful in getting the fight to the ground, he will likely submit Sandhagen. He said:

"Has Cory Sandhagen done enough work where he's gonna be able to avoid the takedowns of Umar [Nurmagomedov] and start to touch him up?...And I think if Cory can continue to do that throughout the fight, I think he has a very good chance of getting the upset...If Umar gets him on the ground, he's probably gonna cook him a little bit maybe one or two rounds and then I think he probably gets a finish."

Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below:

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Aljamain Sterling predicts Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

In addition to predicting the UFC on ABC 7 main event, Aljamain Sterling also shared his thoughts on the co-main event between Marlon Vera and former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.

During the aforementioned appearance, Sterling mentioned that he believes the Brazilian will have an advantage with his grappling and could take advantage of Vera's tendency to start slow. He said:

"I would imagine 'Figgy's gonna look to come out and take him down and pretty much implement the same game plan and land the shots where he could land the shots. I think 'Figgy' is gonna be faster...[Marlon] Vera might be stronger but 'Figgy's got dangerous BJJ and we saw what happened when [Jose] Aldo got on the back 'Chito'...It's a close fight but I think 'Figgy'...should win."

Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below: