An impactful featherweight fight is no longer on the upcoming UFC schedule.
Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling announced Wednesday he’s withdrawing from his bout vs. Movsar Evloev due to an injury. The three-round fight was expected to take place Oct. 5 at UFC 307 from Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
“Unfortunately I have to break the news I will not be competing in Salt Lake City at UFC 307,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “In sparring, I had an injury, not requiring surgery, but I was advised by the UFC medical staff that I will not be able to properly compete in this short of a turnaround.”
With Sterling (24-4 MMA, 16-4 UFC) out, it’s unclear if Evloev (18-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) will remain on the card. While he did not specify the injury, he shared a clip of himself from training where sparring partner Jeremy Kennedy appeared to tweak his arm with a kimura attempt from the bottom.
“I apologize to Movsar and his team because, of course, we’ve both been talking, and I was really looking forward to punching this guy in his face,” Sterling said. “So, Movsar, if you still really want to punch this handsome face, I put the challenge out to you to push the fight back and wait for Daddy. I will be back soon. We could possibly do this in December.”
I believe God has a plan and is protecting me to give my best for @MovsarUFC. I need all my tools for an opponent like Movsar and hopefully he’s willing to fight me when I’m healed up. Thank you to the @UFC medical team for looking out for my health and protecting me from myself.… pic.twitter.com/9nJVf14mew
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) September 18, 2024
With the change, the UFC 307 fight card includes:
- Champion Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree – for light heavyweight title
- Champion Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Peña – for women’s bantamweight title
- Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira
- Movsar Evloev vs. TBA
- Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista
- Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland
- Joaquin Buckley vs. Stephen Thompson
- Iasmin Lucindo vs. Marina Rodriguez
- Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington
- Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potieira
- Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ryan Spann
- Court McGee vs. Tim Means
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
