Aljamain Sterling withdraws from UFC 307 fight against Movsar Evloev

Aljamain Sterling has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming fight against Movsar Evloev at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City on October 5 after sustaining an injury during training.

The former bantamweight champion, who now competes in the 145-pound division, announced the news in a video posted to his YouTube channel on Wednesday.

“I am sorry to announce that I will not be competing at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City,” Sterling said. “I sustained an injury while sparring that does not require surgery, but the UFC medical staff has informed me that I will not be able to compete properly in this short period of time.

“I took the stem cells. I took some time off. I tried to rehabilitate it as best as I could, as best as I could with the [UFC Performance Institute] team here and unfortunately it's out of my hands now. I apologize to Movsar and his team. We talked and I was really looking forward to punching this guy in the face.”

Sources confirmed to MMA Fighting that Sterling suffered an elbow injury that did not require surgery, but treatment did not respond sufficiently to warrant a rematch in October.

Although Sterling is expected to return before the end of the year, there is no chance he will be able to fight at UFC 307.

The UFC has not yet booked a new fight for Evloev against another opponent, but Sterling is hoping the fight can simply be rescheduled for a later date. However, he does not blame the undefeated Russian for continuing after the fight was canceled.

“Movsar, if you still want to put a punch on that handsome face, I dare you to postpone the fight and wait,” Sterling said. “Wait for dad. I'll be back soon. Maybe I'll do it in December. That's pretty much all I've got.”

“If you decide not to wait, I can respect that too, because you're trying to fight for a belt just like me. The only way to do that is to overtake each other.”

It's an unfortunate loss for the UFC 307 card, but obviously even worse for Sterling after he was hoping to beat Evloev and then earn a chance at a possible featherweight title fight. Now he has to wait and see what the UFC decides regarding his next fight.

As for UFC 307, things continue with two title fights at the top of the bill. In the main event, Alex Pereira defends his light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree Jr., while Raquel Pennington showcases her bantamweight belt against former champion Julianna Pena.

Update: Evloev responded to the Sterling news on X.