Aljamain Sterling Withdraws from UFC 307 Bout with Movsar Evloev Due to Injury

Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling has been forced to withdraw from his highly anticipated UFC 307 bout against Movsar Evloev in Salt Lake City, scheduled for October 5. The former bantamweight champion, who has recently moved up to the 145-pound division, announced the news via a video on his YouTube channel, explaining that an injury suffered during training will prevent him from competing.

“Unfortunately, I have to break the news I will not be competing in Salt Lake City at UFC 307,” Sterling stated. “In sparring, I had an injury not requiring surgery, but I was advised by the UFC medical staff that I will not be able to properly compete in this short of a turnaround.”

The injury, which sources confirmed to be an elbow issue, does not require surgery but has not responded well enough to treatment for Sterling to risk fighting in October. Despite undergoing stem cell therapy and working with the UFC Performance Institute to rehabilitate the injury, Sterling had no choice but to pull out of the fight. He expressed disappointment, particularly as he was looking forward to competing against the undefeated Evloev.

Sterling apologized to his opponent, saying,

“I apologize to Movsar and his team. We’ve been talking and I was really looking forward to punching this guy in his face.”

Although frustrated, Sterling remains hopeful that the fight could be rescheduled for later this year. He extended a challenge to Evloev, suggesting they push the fight to December.

“Movsar, if you still really want to punch this handsome face, I put the challenge out to you to push the fight back and wait,” Sterling added. “Wait for daddy. I will be back soon. Possibly do this in December. That’s pretty much all I got.”

While Sterling is expected to return before the end of the year, there’s no confirmation yet on whether Evloev will wait or be rebooked against another opponent. The UFC 307 card, meanwhile, will still feature two title fights: Alex Pereira defending his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree Jr., and Raquel Pennington defending her bantamweight belt against Julianna Pena.