Aljamain Sterling survived an injury late in his fight against Brian Ortega at UFC Shanghai and now the former bantamweight champion has an idea about how long he'll be out of action.
In what was supposed to be his third appearance in the featherweight division, Sterling ultimately competed at 153 pounds when Ortega was unable to make weight but he still secured a dominant decision victory. But with just a few minutes remaining until the final horn, Sterling revealed he suffered some sort of elbow injury that had him feeling like he was going through a "living nightmare."
In the end, Sterling still got the job done but after returning home to the United States, he got some bad news regarding his injury after going to see his doctor.
"So I got my MRI back, grade 2 tear in my tricep," Sterling said on his YouTube channel. "But they said strain. So as he's reading the report, he goes 'grade 2 strain' so I'm relaxing, I'm chilling like oh it's nothing. It's just a strain. I'll be back no problem. It's not like a tear or anything and he goes 'a strain is a tear, what are you talking about?'
"I was like I thought it was two different things. I have a partial tear in my tricep tendon. The thing's still a balloon."
Tricep tears typically break down into various grades based on the severity of the injury. A grade 2 tear is considered a partial tear and usually doesn't require surgery but recovery time varies with most injuries requiring 8 to 12 weeks of recovery time.
That might make it tough for Sterling to compete again in 2025, although he's holding out hope that he could potentially return before the year is over.
"I'm a little bit saddened by that because obviously the momentum, riding the wave right now and then that happens," Sterling said. "I'm thinking maybe I could be back and ready to compete by December, which I still think I can. Just depends on how fast this heals."
Sterling has gone 2-1 in his past three fights since dropping the bantamweight title to Sean O'Malley in what served as his final appearance in the 135-pound division.
After changing weight classes, Sterling put on a dominant showcase over Calvin Kattar before losing a close decision to Movsar Evloev in a back-and-forth battle. He returned to the win column with his performance over Ortega but now Sterling has to face some uncertainty as he waits for the torn triceps to heal so he can book his next appearance in the UFC.
