UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer - Predictions and Picks

#3 Bantamweight: Aljamain Sterling vs. Cory Sandhagen

Aljamain Sterling might be the Bantamweight division's most dangerous man right now

Many fans would probably argue that Sterling – who is currently on a 4-fight winning streak and has beaten Cody Stamann, Jimmie Rivera and Pedro Munhoz – deserves to be one half of the upcoming fight for the Bantamweight title recently vacated by Henry Cejudo. However, with the UFC pursuing a match between Petr Yan and Jose Aldo for that title, ‘Funk Master’ is instead faced with a highly dangerous foe instead.

Sandhagen – a member of the famed Elevation Fight Team based in Colorado – is currently 5-0 in the UFC and most recently outpointed veteran Raphael Assuncao. Over his career in the Octagon, ‘The Sandman’ has shown skills in all areas, from some nasty-but-pinpoint striking to a relatively underrated ground game.

Will that be enough to overcome Sterling? It’s a tricky fight to call. ‘Funk Master’ came into the UFC with a lot of hype in 2014. A former standout collegiate wrestler, it was suggested that Sterling had the ability to become ‘the Jon Jones of Bantamweights’.

Initially, Sterling seemed happy to rely mainly on his incredible athleticism and an excellent ground game. He won his first 4 UFC fights this way, picking up one TKO and two submissions, but came off the rails somewhat between 2016 and 2017.

That period saw him lose to a pair of veterans in Bryan Caraway and Raphael Assuncao. Both fights could well have gone the other way – Sterling gassed against Caraway and was beaten down the stretch, while the judges arguably got the decision in the Assuncao fight wrong.

However, it was safe to say that by that point, ‘Funk Master’ had fallen in love with his striking a little too much. He’d built a powerful arsenal on the feet based largely around his kicking game, but it was clear that his overall technique and nuance wasn’t quite there, and even in a win over Renan Barao, it seemed like his grappling was suffering for this change.

Thankfully, Sterling has now apparently turned things around again. Suddenly, his striking technique appears to be meshing with his grappling to create a fighter who’s dangerous in all areas, and against Munhoz and Rivera, he was able to use his striking to set up his takedowns and vice-versa. With his tremendous athleticism, he may well now be the most dangerous man in the division.

Can Sandhagen beat him, then? For me it’s debatable. ‘The Sandman’ might be the better pure striker, but despite him showing some solid defensive grappling chops against Assuncao and also against Iuri Alcantara in their 2018 fight, it’s hard to imagine him getting the better of Sterling on the ground.

In this fight he’s likely going to have two problems. Firstly, Sterling is likely the superior athlete, and across his UFC career, Sandhagen has yet to face an opponent who’s a better athlete than he is, with more explosive speed and ability to cover range quickly. And secondly, where he was able to overcome Assuncao and Alcantara on the ground, neither man is the wrestler that ‘Funk Master’ is.

Assuming Sterling keeps the same style he used to beat Munhoz and Rivera then – and doesn’t decide to simply trade off with Sandhagen – then I think this is his fight to lose. Sandhagen will undoubtedly give him some problems, but as long as ‘Funk Master’ can ensure he mixes up his striking and grappling, then I think he’ll win a decision. To go out on a limb, I also think he’ll be the UFC’s champion in this division by the end of 2021.

The Pick: Sterling via unanimous decision