Sterling’s Wrestling Plan for Topuria: His 2024 Comments
In October 2024, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling described how he would approach a possible fight with then-featherweight champion Ilia Topuria: prioritize wrestling and grappling rather than trade strikes. The matchup never happened. The record since then shows how quickly the title picture moved—and why Sterling’s comments are best read as a tactical argument, not a booked fight or confirmed route to a title shot.
Sterling’s proposed approach
Sterling’s comments came after Topuria knocked out Max Holloway at UFC 308 and before Sterling’s scheduled bout with Movsar Evloev. In an interview with MMA Fighting, Sterling said he believed his grappling could disrupt Topuria’s offense. His proposed plan was to look for takedowns and make the contest a grappling match instead of accepting prolonged striking exchanges. That was Sterling’s assessment of a hypothetical matchup; it was not evidence that a fight had been negotiated.
The Evloev fight changed the immediate picture
Sterling did meet Evloev at UFC 310 on December 7, 2024. Evloev won by unanimous decision, 29–28 on all three scorecards. That result ended the immediate path suggested in the 2024 preview: Sterling did not earn a Topuria title fight from that bout, and the two men never met in the Octagon.
The division moved on
Sterling later returned to the win column at featherweight, defeating Youssef Zalal by unanimous decision (49–45 on all three cards) on April 25, 2026. The UFC described the win as moving him closer to a championship opportunity. Topuria, meanwhile, left the featherweight title picture and competed at lightweight. On June 14, 2026, Justin Gaethje stopped him after the fourth round at UFC Freedom 250 to win the undisputed lightweight title.
As of October 2026, Sterling’s 2024 grappling gameplan remains an interesting matchup theory, but it is not a current title challenge to Topuria. Their careers have taken separate paths across weight classes. Any future matchup would depend on new circumstances, not the conditional scenario Sterling discussed before UFC 310.
Sources
- MMA Fighting, Sterling on his proposed strategy against Topuria (October 28, 2024)
- UFC, official scorecards for UFC 310
- UFC, official scorecards for Sterling vs. Zalal
- UFC, UFC Freedom 250 results
Tags: Wrestling, Olympic Wrestling
