Aljamain Sterling Reveals Key Strategy Behind Victory Over Brian Ortega
Aljamain Sterling secured a unanimous decision victory over Brian Ortega in the five-round co-main event of UFC Fight Night 257 at Shanghai Indoor Stadium. All three judges scored the contest 50-45 in Sterling’s favor, marking his second win in three outings at featherweight and improving his professional MMA record to 25-5.
Aljamain Sterling vs. Brian Ortega
The bout was contested at a 153-pound catchweight after Ortega encountered difficulty making the featherweight limit. Ortega’s weight-cut challenges were evident at the weigh-in and appeared to impact his output inside the octagon. Ortega managed 211 significant strike attempts and landed 86, while Sterling threw 272 and landed 143, reflecting a clear edge in both activity and accuracy for the former bantamweight champion.
‘Funkmaster‘ Sterling dictated the pace with his jab and leg kicks, forcing Ortega to fight on the back foot for much of the contest.
In a post-fight interview, Sterling outlined the game plan:
“The game plan going in was to strike more and then just… some of the instinctual habits you have ingrained in you. Some of the openings where we were striking felt so easy to get in and take him down. He didn’t get a single wrestling transition takedown. All his takedowns were one takedown from a counter kick in the second round. Everything else was my takedowns and reversals that he got in rounds one and three.
“If I were to make any adjustments, it would be to just cut him loose instead of trying to do what I do to everybody else where I typically get control. Even in the scrambles, the one position he won at the end of the third round, he slid into full mount. That was the only position like that I’ve seen before. So my intuition is just going for the kill, but he came up with the underhook and put me on my back and rode out the last 90 seconds.”
Sterling disclosed that he suffered a partial triceps tendon tear while executing a spinning back fist but remained confident in his recovery timeline. He received grade-2 strain results on his MRI and anticipates returning to competition by December, pending healing progress.
With Alexander Volkanovski entrenched as the reigning featherweight champion, Sterling’s victory positions him for a future title shot, though he may need to navigate a lineup of contenders that includes Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy. Ortega, now 16-6-1, confronts a 1-4 stretch over his last five fights and may reconsider his long-standing presence at featherweight after consecutive weight-cut difficulties.
