Aljamain Sterling: Lifestyle choices after losing title 'took a toll on my lungs,' affecting UFC 300 prep

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling admits he let loose a little too much after losing his title.

After dropping the belt to Sean O’Malley in August at UFC 292, Sterling ballooned in weight. That’s partially because “The Funkmaster” is currently working toward a move to featherweight but not entirely.

Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) always has been a big 135 pounder, but he never failed to appear in impeccable shape on fight night. However, his knack for indulging in sweets made that process a little harder.

“I do wonder how much I’m going to blow up to after the fight,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “Whenever I make 135, I’m almost – just about the last five years, I’ve pretty much always hit 180. Like your body is holding on to everything, blowing back up, so I do wonder if I’m going to do the same thing. I got a sweet tooth and even though I’m not only eating candies and chocolates, it almost feels like a bottomless pit.

“Like you can’t help yourself. You’re telling yourself to stop eating, but somehow your hands are still moving towards the fridge, your legs are still walking towards the fridge, your fingers are dialing DoorDash and Uber Eats. Somehow you’re still ordering food when you know you don’t want anything. It’s like a sickness.”

In his featherweight debut, Sterling draws top contender Calvin Kattar (23-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) on April 13 at UFC 300 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“Right now I’m just tired,” Sterling said. “I do one to two rounds of striking, and I’m exhausted. Also (I’m) moving around and trying to do what I do when I’m lighter. Those eight to nine weeks of drinking every single day and hookah non-stop, staying up late at night, it definitely took a toll on my lungs, so I still feel like I’m battling back from and trying to gain all that. We sparred, and I felt like I had a relatively solid day except when I went with Julian Erosa.

“I did some good stuff, but there’s still some things I’m having trouble with because of the height difference. (He’s 6-foot-1) and fights at 145. There’s going to be some things I need to figure out where I was closer to being the tallest guy at bantamweight. Now you got Sean Woodson, you got Julian Erosa, you got some of these guys who are just like trees, so I’ve got to figure out the game with that. Taking them down, being able to maintain control for longer periods of time, working the threshold and understanding all of that.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.