Despite his already lofty place in the hierarchy of most accomplished 135-pounders in UFC history, popular recognition has been slow in coming for the 34-year-old New York native, and while some of the reasons for that lack of respect may say more about those fans than about Sterling, it is fair to point out that most of his triumphs in the last three years have come with some sort of asterisk. Sterling’s last four appearances, spanning his title win and three defenses, include a win by disqualification in a fight he appeared to be losing, two split decisions and a TKO victory over a challenger who entered the cage concealing a major injury and should never have competed that night.
None of those caveats are Sterling’s fault—he is responsible neither for Yan’s blatant foul nor Dillashaw’s decision to fight while severely compromised—but for observers who are already disposed to minimize his accomplishments, they paint a picture of a lucky champ who has reigned by serendipity rather than superiority.
Sterling has a chance to change that narrative this weekend, and for that reason he stands to gain just as much as his challenger. By silencing the brash but undeniably skilled “Suga Show,” hopefully without any ifs, ands or buts, the champ has a chance to move on from the strangeness of his early title reign and draw attention for the right reason—for his increasingly compelling case to be considered the greatest bantamweight of all time.
Here is the 12-year history of the UFC men’s bantamweight title and the times it was won, lost or defended. Interim title fights are omitted with the exception of those involving Renan Barao, since he was promoted from interim to undisputed champ without a title unification bout. The picture tells the story of a couple of the biggest what-if champions in MMA history, but only one of whom is still in a position to answer the what-ifs.
Ben Duffy/Sherdog.com illustration