UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling gives a major update on his recovery and return date

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling recently took to social media to provide fight fans with an update regarding his injury. 'Funkmaster' has been out of competition ever since he won the 135-pound strap from Petr Yan in March at UFC 259.

The fight ended in the fourth round when Petr Yan landed an illegal knee on a downed Aljamain Sterling. The blow rendered Aljamain Sterling unable to continue and he won the fight via disqualification. Sterling became the first UFC fighter to become a champion via DQ.

A month after his injury, Aljamain Sterling underwent artificial disc replacement surgery. He recently posted a message on social media, providing an update on his recovery.

"I am back from L.A. I got to see my doctor, Dr. Robert Watkins Jr. out in L.A, who did my artificial disc replacement, four weeks ago today. Week 5 starts tomorrow. He told me I can start hitting pads, which I'm super pumped about. But, I'm a little sore from all the work we've been doing at PT," said Sterling in a video on Instagram.

"We've been crushing it pretty hard. Two back-to-back days with some solid legwork. So I'm just gonna wait till next week to start hitting pads, get to feel things, and get back into that groove, you know?" added Sterling.

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Aljamain Sterling expects to return to the Octagon in November

Aljamain Sterling revealed that he is now medically cleared to hit pads. He will also soon be able to get back to sparring.

"He [Dr. Robert] told me that, three months more, and I can start sparring and everything and I should be 95% healed. Right now, I am about 80-85% [healed]. I'm super pumped up about the progress. I cannot be any more excited about the future," said Sterling.

"This is insane, how I woke up and there's nothing. everything is completely gone. I just can't wait to get back out there in November and really silence the crowd and just remind everybody who I am and what I've done," added Sterling.

I’m very happy with my progress so far since my artificial disc replacement surgery 4 weeks ago. I remember those conversations with my teammates in New York, talking about retiring at 32, mainly bc of...https://t.co/AOeXON4iE1 pic.twitter.com/cVwCH9SSnc

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 13, 2021

According to Dr. Robert Watkins' report, it appears that Aljamain Sterling's recovery is going well. If things go as planned, the bantamweight division will have an active champion at the top soon.

Ideally, Aljamain Sterling will return to face Petr 'No Mercy' Yan to mark his first title defense in a rematch of their UFC 259 fight.

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Do you think Aljamain Sterling will be able to validate his championship status with a legitimate win over his Russian opponent? Let us know in the comments section!