Aljamain Sterling Targets Jean Silva for Featherweight Title Eliminator

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is targeting a matchup against Jean Silva to determine the definitive No. 1 contender for the featherweight championship. Silva recently earned a third-round submission victory over Jose Delgado in the main event of Noche UFC 4 and subsequently called out the winner of the upcoming UFC 333 title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev.

Sterling, who is coming off wins over Brian Ortega and Youssef Zalal, believes Silva must go through him first before stepping into a championship opportunity. The former bantamweight titleholder initially suggested meeting Silva in November at Madison Square Garden, but noted he is equally willing to push the date to December to allow "Lord" ample time to recover and prepare.

Addressing the proposed matchup on his YouTube channel, Sterling expressed his willingness to accept any stage to make the fight materialize. "Even if it’s a Fight Night, I don’t give a f*ck," Sterling said. "All I’m saying is, I want to give him 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."

With Volkanovski and Evloev slated to square off in October, Sterling feels the divisional timing aligns properly for a title eliminator. "So, the most common-sense thing, in my personal opinion, is to let us figure it out and see who wins," Sterling added. "We both stay busy, stay active and get a clear-cut No.

1 contender for the title. I know they had the 'Beware of Dog' signs, but I got something for that. I like to think my style is the ultimate equalizer."