Aljamain Sterling calls for Diego Lopes Sphere showdown: ‘Movsar Evloev started making excuses’

Aljamain Sterling has quickly abandoned the thought of a Movsar Evloev Featherweight contender match up.

UFC 300 saw the emergence of the former Bantamweight champion in his new division when he earned a lopsided unanimous decision win over Calvin Kattar in April 2024. Originally, Sterling hoped for a high-profile pairing against the former division champion and now Baddest Motherf*cker (BMF) titleholder, Max Holloway.

Holloway’s incredible fifth round knockout win for the latter title against Justin Gaethje (watch highlights) removed him from any non-title conversations for the immediate future. Therefore, leaving Sterling to look at a different top contender, which was the undefeated 18-0 Evloev. That was until Diego Lopes continued his rise with a chaotically short-notice unanimous decision win over Dan Ige at UFC 303 last month (June 29, 2024).

“Stay tuned. Hopefully, we’ll have some fight news for you guys. I’m thinking about Aljamain Sterling vs. Diego Lopes as The Sphere,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel (h/t MMA Fighting). “That has a nice ring to it.

“Movsar, I have no idea what he’s up to,” he went on. “I offered him a specific date, but he still hasn’t confirmed. He’s been coming up with all sorts of excuses. If he’s not willing to fight on my conditions, then I’ll find someone else to fight. Diego Lopes, if you’re up for it, let’s arrange a match at The Sphere on September 14. Let’s make this happen!”

UFC’s new tradition of celebrating Mexican Independence Day will continue with Noche UFC on September 14, 2024. The date makes for all too logical of a return date for the surging Lopes, who has only lost to Evloev in his UFC career, a short-notice unanimous decision setback at UFC 288 in May 2023. Coincidentally, Sterling headlined that event when he successfully defended his Bantamweight crown against Henry Cejudo via split decision.