Aljamain Sterling calls out Jean Silva for a number-one contender fight
Aljamain Sterling wants to fight Jean Silva in December.
Having won three of his last four and riding a two-fight winning streak in the division, ‘Aljo’ believes he has positioned himself comfortably in the title picture. A potential new face for champion Alexander Volkanovski, the former bantamweight king wants to catapult himself to UFC gold in a second division, but knows he may need one more win. He wants that to come in a number one contender clash against the frightening Fighting Nerds product, Silva.
Unconvinced by Jean Silva’s Noche UFC performance, Aljamain Sterling claims the Brazilian needs to beat someone noteworthy to warrant a title shot. And up steps Sterling.
“If you want to claim you’re the number one guy, you should be next in line; you should have a performance like it,” Sterling said. “On top of that, you’ve got to beat somebody that’s worth the sh*t. No disrespect to you, Delgado, but in terms of how long you’ve been here and what you’ve done in the division, that’s not the win that gets you over the hump in my personal, unbiased opinion.”
“I’m the clear cut. I mean, people can say what they want to say, ‘Oh, you beat a half-dead Ortega. Oh, you only beat Zalal.’ Motherf***er, Zalal was probably going to get the next title shot had he beaten me. Now, all of a sudden, because I won, you don’t like this sh*t?”
Sterling continued.
“December, run that sh*t,” Sterling added. “All I’m saying is, I want to give [Silva] the fair opportunity to heal, be ready, be the best version of himself, and I would love to have that fight.”
“I want to fight the fights that make the most sense. The biggest names. The fights that get me somewhere, not just taking random fights just to say I fought this guy. Like, I don’t give a f***. Bro, I’m 37. It’s time to sh*t or get off the pot.”
“I’mma be fair. I’mma do the right thing and say I want you at your best. Take your time, heal up. Let’s run this sh*t back. Let’s run this sh*t for December. And we do this and see who’s the clear-cut number one contender.”