Aljamain Sterling announces withdrawal from UFC 307 fight against Movsar Evloev due to injury

Aljamain Sterling has withdrawn from his UFC 307 bout against Movsar Evloev. The former bantamweight champion was looking to build off his impressive featherweight debut, but he unfortunately suffered a setback.

The bout had major implications in the featherweight title picture, especially considering their respective records and recent performances. With Alexander Volkanovski expected to receive the next title shot against the winner of Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway, the Evloev vs. Sterling winner could have made a strong argument for top contender status in the meantime.

'Funk Master' uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he officially announced that he is out of UFC 307 on Oct. 5. Sterling mentioned that his injury won't require an extended layoff and was advised to withdraw from the bout by the promotion's medical staff:

"Unfortunately, I have to break the news. I will not be competing in Salt Lake City at UFC 307. 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...I did stem cells, I took time off, tried to rehab it as much as I can as best as I can with the PI team here and unfortunately it's out of my hands now." [0:02 - 0:44]

Check out Aljamain Sterling's full video below:

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Aljamain Sterling requests rescheduled bout against Movsar Evloev

In addition to providing an update on his injury, Aljamain Sterling requested a rescheduled bout against Movsar Evloev.

During the aforementioned video, Sterling mentioned that he will be ready to return in December and issued a challenge to Evloev to accept the slight delay so they can settle their score in the octagon:

"I put the challenge out to you to push the fight and wait, wait for daddy. I will be back soon, possibly do this [fight] in December...So Movsar, if you really wanna get it in, let's wait till December." [0:59 - 1:19]

Check out highlights from Aljamain Sterling's most recent win over Calvin Kattar below: