Aljamain Sterling wants a rematch for the bantamweight belt as soon as possible

• UFC

Aljamain Sterling lost his bantamweight belt to O'Malley after 9 wins and a pair of title defenses. Now he wants to return the belt at the beginning of next year if the UFC allows him. Of course, everyone would like to see that fight as soon as possible, but they will see what Dana White and the management will decide.

The audience surely wants to see that match.

Aljamain Sterling : But if I’m not going to get the rematch, the next guy in line has to be Merab Dvalishvili

“I think if I don’t get the immediate rematch, and I don’t want to fight if they offer me the immediate rematch for December, I’m going to have to respectfully decline,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel.

“But if they were to do it early next year, like in January or February, I would accept it in a heartbeat. “But if I’m not going to get the rematch, the next guy in line has to be Merab Dvalishvili. He has to be.

He’s the No. 1 contender. I don’t think any other matchup makes more scene than him. Clearly, the other guys that are on the sideline, they’re hurt. It’s going to be interesting to see what the UFC does, but I think that’s the most logical match" as quoted by MMAJunkie. Sterling said that if he can't get a rematch, then let his friend and teammate Dvalishvili get a chance to fight O'Malley.

Sterling knows it would complicate his path to the belt, but says it's the only realistic option. The two are team mates and have already stated that they do not want to fight each other.

Fans are eagerly waiting for who will be the challenger in the bantamweight

“Of course, that would put me in limbo,” Sterling said.

“People will be like, ‘Where does that leave you, Aljo? I don’t know. Maybe I stick around 135 and take a fight or two and then go to 145, or maybe I go straight to 145. It just really depends. Let’s just see how things shape up before we start jumping to conclusions and get all crazy”.

“I think it’s another interesting matchup against a guy that can get takedowns over and over and over again and exhaust his opponents,” Sterling said. “Look what he did with Yan and look how the fight with Yan and O’Malley went.

Obviously, look at my fight against Sean until it was over. It leaves a lot of interesting questions to be answered. I think it would be a great opportunity for Merab to get a title shot and to become the first Georgian champion. It would be huge for his country and huge for our team”.