After a five-round slugfest, Aljamain Sterling emerged victorious over Brian Ortega, but he sustained injuries that he has yet to recover from.
The former bantamweight champion made his third featherweight division appearance at UFC Shanghai and proved he can perform in any weight class. The fighters had a back-and-forth collision, but in the end, Sterling emerged victorious, not without sustaining an elbow injury.
“So I got my MRI back, grade 2 tear in my tricep,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “But they said strain. So as he’s reading the report, he goes ‘grade 2 strain,’ so I’m relaxing, I’m chilling like oh it’s nothing. It’s just a strain. I’ll be back, no problem. It’s not like a tear or anything and he goes, ‘a strain is a tear, what are you talking about?’
“I was like, I thought it was two different things. I have a partial tear in my tricep tendon. The thing’s still a balloon.”
A grade 2 tear is considered a partial tear and usually doesn’t require surgery, but recovery time varies, with most injuries requiring 8 to 12 weeks of healing.
That might make it tough for Sterling to compete again in 2025, although he’s holding out hope that he could potentially return before the year is over.
“I’m a little bit saddened by that because obviously the momentum, riding the wave right now and then that happens,” Sterling said. “I’m thinking maybe I could be back and ready to compete by December, which I still think I can. Just depends on how fast this heals.”
Sterling has gone 2-1 in his past three fights since dropping the bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley in what served as his final appearance in the 135-pound division.
“I’m a little bit saddened by that because obviously the momentum, riding a wave right now then that happens,” Sterling said. “I’m thinking maybe I can be back and ready to compete by December, which I still think I can. It just depends on how fast this heals.”
