Scouting Report: Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling

Born: July 31, 1989 (Age: 33) in Uniondale, New York
Division: Bantamweight
Height: 5’7”
Reach: 71”
Record: 22-3 (14-3 UFC)
Association: Serra-Longo Fight Team
Stage of Career: Prime

Summary: Sterling is one of the greatest bantamweights of all-time, with an utterly unique approach. He has a highly unorthodox striking game that sees him constantly switch stances, lean forward and throw spinning backfists and step-in elbows, along with many exotic kicks. His right hand is a lot better than his left, but because of his great footwork, outstanding movement and terrific defense, Sterling has managed to handily defeat many excellent strikers in his division, including Jimmie Rivera and Pedro Munhoz. His grappling skills rank among the sport’s best. While his takedowns are quite good, everything else is downright exceptional. The speed and fluidity with which he takes the back or attacks with submissions is amazing, and his ground-and-pound is accurate and powerful. Sterling may find himself on his own back at times, but perhaps no one is better at attacking from that position and then getting back up immediately with the greatest of ease. Sterling also excels at the intangibles. He has brutal grip strength and supreme athleticism, an iron chin, great recuperative powers and terrific cardio that makes his high-energy style possible in the first place. However, the most impressive trait may be his fight IQ, as he shows constant improvement between matches while executing the most complex and subtle gameplans flawlessly.

STRIKING

• Stance: Switches constantly, with no clear preference.
• Hand Speed: Slightly faster than average.
• Jab: Excellent from a southpaw stance, as it is fast, technical, hard, sudden and short. Decent from orthodox, as while it is straight and technical, it can occasionally be telegraphed and can lack power.
• Cross: A nice, long, accurate shot from the right side, though it falls short on the power spectrum. His left is significantly worse and only about average, being straight and technical but less accurate and carrying little oomph at all.
• Left/Right Hook: Quite unorthodox from the left side, but it can still be effective. He throws it low and leans forward with it. The arc is nice and tight, but it lacks some rotation and tends to be way too telegraphed. Superior from the right side, being more fluid and natural while also disguising it better.
• Overhand Right/Left: The left is his only strike that can be called poor. It is a wild, straight-armed punch that is badly telegraphed and often misses by a mile. His right is much better. A decent shot thanks to being accurate and technical, it does lack power.
• Uppercuts: Rarely throws them.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Loves to throw multiple strikes at the opponent, though not necessarily just as punches. Instead, he can mix punches and kicks together, along with elbows and backfists.
• Favorite Combination(s): The three-two from orthodox, left hook to right cross, which is fluid and accurate. However, neither strike carries much power.
• Leg Kicks: Hard and accurate, and he he swings his hips into them nicely.
• Body Kicks: Whether roundhouse or front kicks, they are fast, sudden and hard.
• Head Kicks: Sterling has terrific flexibility, but while they look powerful, they are not fast or sudden enough. The result? Most are blocked at his current level.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: Yes and flows nicely with his funky style. He likes to combine a right hand with a kick, in either order.

Sterling is one of the sport’s most unique strikers. While a lot of his technique is unorthodox, it is undeniably effective. A lot of his style is predicated on constantly switching stances, with no clear preference, and flowing from one strike to another. The way he combines punches, kicks and evasiveness is dizzying and overwhelming. However, the best aspect of his standup is his superb footwork and outstanding movement. He also moves his head well and shows tremendous instincts, along with the ability to block, making him a true defensive stalwart. Sterling lacks power but still manages to inflict more punishment on his opponents than they can answer with in return.

CLINCH

• Physicality: Clearly has tremendous grip strength that keeps even strong opponents against the cage.
• Technique: Outstanding, though he can get sloppy sometimes.
• Knees: Hard, technical and thrown at a high rate of fire, even when grinds for a takedown—a rare skill.
• Elbows: Rarely throws them, despite his use of the step-in elbow or when he moves into top position.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Stellar. Far too active with his own abilities for opponents to even try them.

Sterling is exceptionally dangerous in the clinch thanks to a steady diet of solid knees to the body, which he can throw even when busy grinding for a takedown. It is possible to stop his takedowns, but Sterling’s grip strength and technique make it difficult.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: He has some slick transitions from striking to wrestling, and his technique is solid, but in general, Sterling is not quite fast or sudden enough to trouble those with outstanding takedown defense.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: He can use his grip strength to much better effect here.
• Takedown Defense: Sterling can be put on his back when he misses a wild kick or gets off-balance, but he has not been taken down from wrestling more than once since he fought Cody Stamann in 2018. He has certainly improved in this area.
• Ability to Return to Feet: Extraordinary. It is amazing how Sterling immediately throws up an armbar or triangle attempt to gain space, then hip escapes and explodes back to an upright position with perfect technique and great athleticism.
• Submissions: Incredibly quick at taking the back or locking on a submission and attacking. Opponents can get lost with how quickly he cycles through positions or attacks, which is happened to Cory Sandhagen before Sterling cinched a rear-naked-choke. He has some unique submissions in his arsenal, too, like the kneebar with which he finished Stamann.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Magnificent, though he never stays there for long.
• Top Control: He is so fast at improving his position or taking the back that it is extremely dangerous to immediately try to build a base or even wall walk, which was evident against Sandhagen and T.J. Dillashaw. However, Sterling does not actually control either the hips or wrists, so if he is not ready to attack, opponents can stand back up.
• Ground-and-Pound: At least sound. He throws hard punches from both hands and the occasional heavy, accurate elbow. It finished Dillashaw, but the former champion was fighting with one arm by that time. It would be interesting to see how effective he can be against other opponents.

Sterling has one of the best overall grappling games in MMA. His wrestling attack is quite good, with occasionally quick transitions, but they are not overwhelmingly fast or sudden. Still, only those with stout defense can nullify Sterling’s takedowns, especially since his grip strength gives him many opportunities. Once on top, few—if any—are better. He has outstanding control due to how quickly he can improve position or take the back when an opponent tries to get up. The true crown jewel of his repertoire is his submission game, with amazing speed and an ability to cycle through positions and attacks, overwhelming many contemporaries. Defensively, Sterling is extremely difficult to take down and has put himself in the company of all-time greats with how he can immediately get back to his feet.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Tremendously dynamic, fluid and powerful.
• Cardio: Sterling can maintain a high pace with constant strikes and takedowns for three rounds without slowing down. Even when he pushed a breakneck pace, he only looks diminished late in the second and third rounds. When asked to go 25 minutes, Sterling understandably slows down in the latter stages but never to the point where he appears winded.
• Chin: He has eaten some huge shots—a head kick from Munhoz and many thudding punches from Petr Yan, for instance—sometimes without showing any sign of being hurt.
• Recuperative Powers: Recovered quickly repeatedly against Yan.
• Intelligence: Maximizes his unique style, exploits an opponent’s weaknesses ruthlessly and implements brilliant, precise gameplans that shut down adversaries after fight.