UFC bantamweight <a href="https://www.newsday.com/search#filter=stories&query=%22aljamain%20sterling%22">Aljamain Sterling</a> went to Uniondale High School. He trains with Ray Longo and Matt Serra.

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Aljamain Sterling coverage

Mark La Monica

What's one more month to wait for the <a href="http://newsday.com/aljamainsterling">Aljamain Sterling</a>-Petr Yan rematch? 
The reiging bantamweight champion Sterling and the interim champion Yan were booked last week to fight at UFC 272 on March 5 in Las Vegas. Not anymore. 
The two are now scheduled to fight each other at UFC 273 on April 9, according to Sterling's social media accounts and multiple reports. No city or venue for UFC 273 has been announced yet. 
That bout was supposed to be the UFC 272 co-main event, with Alexander Volkanovski defending his featherweight title against Max Holloway in the main event. A few days later, Holloway had to pull out of the event with an injury. 
Now, Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington will serve as the main event of UFC 272 in March, and Volkanovski will face "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung for the title at UFC 273, according to multiple reports. 
The rebooking of Sterling-Yan gives them an extra month to go back and forth at each other on social media, as they have been doing since the night they first fought. 
Sterling tweeted Tuesday that he was told that Yan was the reason the fight was being pushed back. 
Yan responded on Twitter, saying "UFC simply doesn’t want fake champion to headline the event." 
Sterling, the Serra-Longo fighter from Uniondale, and Yan, from Russia, first fought at UFC 259 on March 6, 2021, with Sterling being awarded Yan’s title on a disqualification after the standing Yan delivered an illegal knee to the grounded Sterling’s head in the fourth round. It was the first time in the UFC’s near 30-year history that a title changed hands on a disqualification. 
The judges had the bout scored 29-28, 29-28, 28-29 through the first three rounds for Yan, who ikely was en route to winning the fourth round as well before the illegal knee. 
This will be the first title defense for Sterling (20-3). He also was scheduled to face Yan last October but was not medically cleared to fight after having neck surgery to address an injury that has bothered him for several years. Yan (16-2) instead fought and beat Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267 to win the interim bantamweight title.

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Aljamain Sterling's rematch with Petr Yan moved to UFC 273

Sterling's rematch with Yan moved to UFC 273

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After nearly a year of back-and-forth banter on social media and anywhere else that chronicles the words of Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan since "the knee," there is again a rescheduled date when the two fighters will meet to settle their feud and determine the UFC bantamweight champion. 
Sterling, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion who grew up in Roosevelt and Uniondale, will defend his title against Yan, now the interim champion, at UFC 272 on March 5 in Las Vegas, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Wednesday. The report also said Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title against Max Holloway that night. (Volkanovski won both previous bouts against Holloway.) 
Sterling and Yan first fought at UFC 259 on March 6, 2021, with <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-250-aljamain-sterling-petr-yan-1.50175421">Sterling being awarded Yan’s title on a disqualification</a> after the standing Yan delivered an illegal knee to the grounded Sterling’s head in the fourth round. It was the first time in the UFC’s near 30-year history that a title changed hands on a disqualification. And it has led to plenty of verbal attacks on Sterling from Yan, other fighters and fans. 
The Serra-Longo trained Sterling opened the first bout by pressuring Yan and putting on an aggressive pace. He outworked Yan on volume in the first round, but Yan was able to land a straight right that knocked down Sterling. He popped right back up, though, and continued his relentless attack for the rest of that round and into the second round. 
Yan, who was on a 10-fight winning streak, was able to assert himself more in the second and third rounds. The judges had the bout scored 29-28, 29-28, 28-29 in favor of Yan through the first three rounds. He likely was en route to winning the fourth round as well before the illegal knee, which has helped contribute to the nasty narrative between the two fighters in the months since. 
This will be the first title defense for Sterling (20-3). He was scheduled to face Yan last October but was not medically cleared to fight after having neck surgery to address an injury that has bothered him for several years. Yan (16-2) instead fought and beat Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267 to win the interim bantamweight title.

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Aljamain Sterling gets his rematch with Petr Yan at UFC 272

Sterling gets his rematch with Yan at UFC 272

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A look at which UFC weight classes have crowned new champions thus far in 2021. 
<h3>UFC bantamweight champion: Aljamain Sterling</h3> 
The Uniondale-raised <a href="http://newsday.com/aljamainsterling">Aljamain Sterling</a> won the belt from Petr Yan after <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-250-aljamain-sterling-petr-yan-1.50175421">Yan was disqualified for throwing an illegal knee</a> to the head of Sterling, who was a downed opponent, late in the fourth round. It was the first time a UFC title changed hands via disqualification. Yan was up on two of the three scorecards through the first three rounds, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29, and likely would have won the fourth round if not for committing the illegal strike. 
<h3>UFC heavyweight champion: Francis Ngannou</h3> 
Potential reaches actual as <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-260-francis-ngannou-stipe-miocic-1.50197192">Francis Ngannou finally became the UFC heavyweight champion</a> when he knocked out Stipe Miocic in the second round at UFC 260 on March 27. Ngannou, who lost decisively to Miocic the first time they fought for the title in 2018, dropped Miocic twice in the second round, the last of which buckled Miocic's knees to stop the bout. 
<h3>UFC women's strawweight champion: Rose Namajunas</h3> 
Rose Namajunas won back her title when she knocked out Zhang Weili at the 1:18 mark of the first round at UFC 261 on April 24, 2021. Namajunas landed a left high kick that floored Weili, and then she followed up with a few strikes before the fight was stopped. 
<h3>UFC lightweight champion: Charles Oliveira</h3> 
With his ninth straight victory, Charles Oliveira won the vacant UFC lightweight title at UFC 262 on May 15. Known more for his submissions, Oliveira beat Michael Chandler by TKO in the second round. "Do Bronx" dropped Chandler with the left as the second round opened, then chased him around before landing another left hook and follow-up strikes 19 seconds into the round. 
<h3>UFC flyweight champion: Brandon Moreno</h3> 
At UFC 263 on June 12, Brandon Moreno became the first Mexican-born champion in UFC history. He submitted Deiveson Figueiredo via rear naked choke in the third round to take his title in their rematch. Moreno started strong, hurting Figueiredo with a big shot in the first round. Moreno also reversed a takedown in the second round before getting the submission midway through the third round. 
<h3>UFC interim heavyweight champion: Ciryl Gane</h3> 
Four-plus months after Francis Ngannou became the heavyweight champion, the UFC put together an interim title fight between Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lews. Gane remained perfect in the UFC with a third-round TKO of Lewis at UFC 265 in Houston on Aug. 7 to become the interim champion and set himself up for a title unification bout with Ngannou. 
<h3>UFC interim bantamweight champion: Petr Yan</h3> 
Petr Yan lost his title earlier this year to Aljamain Sterling (see above), but got back a piece of the gold at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 30. He and Cory Sandhagen put on a terrific performance, with Yan winning by unanimous decision. All three judges scored it 49-46 for the Russian bantamweight. 
<h3>UFC light heavyweight champion: Glover Teixeira</h3> 
Glover Teixeira became the oldest first-time UFC champion when the 42-year-old Brazilian took the title from Jan Błachowicz at UFC 267 on Oct. 30. Teixeira controlled most of the first round, then scored a takedown in the second round and worked toward a submission chokehold to claim the title at the 3:02 mark in the main event in Abu Dhabi. 
<h3>UFC women's bantamweight champion: Julianna Pena</h3> 
Julianna Pena told anyone and everyone with a microphone that she was ready to dethrone Amanda Nunes as bantamweight champion. At UFC 269 on Dec. 11, she did exactly that -- and as a 10-1 underdog. <a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/ufc-269-julianna-pena-amanda-nunes-1.50449269">Pena submitted Nunes</a>, a two-weight champion widely considered the best female MMA fighter ever, by rear naked choke in the second round in the co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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The new UFC champions in 2021

UFC 261: Zhang v Namajunas

Phumi Nkuta need not look far for motivation in his journey as a mixed martial artist. There’s a wall in the gym with oversized posters of those who already are or have been where he wants to go. 
"Every day," Nkuta said about looking at that wall at Longo &amp; Weidman MMA in Garden City. 
And when his head returns to normal eye level, Nkuta can find more motivation, knowledge, experience and confidence from two of his training partners, both of whom have three letters attached to their names: U, F and C. Having Aljamain Sterling, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion, and Merab Dvalishvili, a top-ranked contender, as training partners has helped guide Nkuta on his path, a short one thus far in terms of fights but one that has led to the Cage Fury FC flyweight championship belt strapped around his waist. 
"It just shows you that, one, it's possible, and two, if you just work hard and stick with it, you're going to get there," said Nkuta, who lives in Massapequa. "I’ve seen the roadblocks Aljo has had to go through, and I’ve seen the different roadblocks Merab has had to go through, and every single time, they keep steamrolling over them. So as long as I just keep doing the right thing, I follow on the same path as those guys, I should end up where they are."
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The next stop on Nkuta’s journey comes Saturday afternoon when he makes his first flyweight title defense at CFFC 101 at Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Nkuta (3-0) faces Miguel Diaz (3-1) in the main event, which will stream on UFC Fight Pass. 
Nkuta discovered the sport as a teenager growing up in South Brunswick, New Jersey, first seeing MMA and WWE on television. It meandered through kickboxing classes, jiu-jitsu classes and wrestling in high school. Nkuta attended Hofstra and quickly discovered the university’s proximity to an MMA gym that has produced three UFC champions. 
"He came in with minimal experience, but from Day 1, I don’t remember him ever looking bad," trainer Ray Longo said. "He could do everything from Day 1, it’s just putting it all together."
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Saturday's bout against Diaz will be a different fight for Nkuta. He'll walk last, and do so as the man atop the throne, the one fighters want to beat to make a name for themselves in the hopes of getting from the regional scene to the upper echelon of the sport’s promotions. Still, the 5-4 Nkuta will walk tall and confident toward the cage to face his challenger. His experience, his team, and yes, that CFFC belt, help. 
"The fact I'm coming in with this, it almost gives me a little bit more confidence going in there," Nkuta said. "I don't have to prove I’m a champion anymore. Now I know it. So I already reached this bar. Now I have to prove I’m better than this. Now I have to reach the next bar. So the hunger is still there but the confidence is just even greater with this belt." 
Nkuta, 26, brings speed and pace to his fights. Hence the nickname "Turbo." But he also says he carries more belief and self-assurance in his improving jiu-jitsu, honed on the mats of Serra BJJ in Huntington. 
"Defensively, I was good. But now, I can actually start being aggressive, now I can start getting the positions that I want to get and keep them," Nkuta said. "Now if I get somebody’s back and I get that body triangle, I'm finishing the fight. I want to be able to almost solidify myself as a finisher, top to bottom at this point."

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With eyes on UFC, Phumi Nkuta brings added confidence to his first CFFC title defense

LAW-MMA's Nkuta brings added confidence to first title defense

Here comes the opportunity Merab Dvalishvili kept asking for every time a microphone was placed in front of his face and questions were asked of him. 
Top-ranked opponent. Big name. Chance to test himself against the best bantamweights the UFC has to offer as he climbs the ladder in the 135-pound division. 
Dvalishvili, a Serra-Longo fighter who lives in Bellmore, will face Marlon Moraes in the featured prelim bout at UFC 266 in Las Vegas on Saturday night. 
"I have a healthy respect for Marlon Moraes. He was a World Series of Fighting champion, and in UFC, he was No. 1 for a long time," Dvalishvili said. "He throws hard, power in kicking and punching." 
The 11th-ranked Dvalishvili (13-4), from the Republic of Georgia, showcased his ever-improving striking his last two fights with unanimous-decision victories over Cody Stamann and John Dodson. 
But when the subject of Merab Dvalishvili comes up in discussions among those who follow mixed martial arts, two other things quickly rocket to the forefront: his takedowns and his pace. 
In his eight UFC fights (six wins, two questionable decision losses), Dvalishvili has 59 takedowns, tops in the division’s history in the promotion. His 13 takedowns of Gustavo Lopez in June 2020 were the most in a single fight in UFC bantamweight history. Of course, he broke his own record of 12 set in his previous fight four months earlier. 
"When you take somebody down, and you’re on top, when you hug or even when you punch, it looks you’re winning it," Dvalishvili said. "That’s why I like to make sure I’m winning. The strike exchanges, sometimes looks weird, like maybe I think I’m winning, but . . . " 
But, as the saying goes in MMA, don’t leave it in the judges’ hands to decide. 
Dvalishvili has the conditioning to go the full 15 minutes without getting tired. All eight of his UFC fights have gone the distance. It’s how he earned his nickname "The Machine" from teammates in the gym who have worked with him, a group that includes current UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta. Dvalishvili’s pace can be relentless, both on the feet and on the ground. 
The sixth-ranked Moraes (23-8-1) possesses a level of power in his striking that few 135-pounders can match. But he has struggled a bit record-wise since joining the UFC in 2017. He’s 5-4, including two straight losses by TKO to Rob Font and Cory Sandhagen. 
"It’s a fight, and even though he lost his last two, I still have so much respect, and it’s not going to be easy for me. I’m just going to be focused from the first second to the last second," Dvalishvili said. "When I say first second to last second, I want to make sure I’m the leader, I’m dominating, I’m the guy who puts pressure on his opponent." 
Dvalishvili kicks off a busy seven-week run for the Serra-Longo fight team. CFFC flyweight champion Phumi Nkuta defends his title on Oct. 2. Dylan Mantello, Dennis Buzukja and James Gonzalez compete at Ring of Combat on Oct. 22. Then, Sterling defends his title for the first time against Petr Yan at UFC 267 on Oct. 27 in Abu Dhabi, and Iaquinta returns to the octagon against Bobby Green on Nov. 6 for UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden. Nearly a dozen other up-and-coming fighters have bouts along the way as well. 
"We’re getting better and better as a team. We’re together and we always help and support each other," Dvalishvili said. "I’m just enjoying training and helping my teammates and see how successful they are. After my fight, I want to quickly come back and help Aljo and my other teammates." 
But first, Dvalishvili must tend to his own business in the UFC’s bantamweight division. 
"He earned his right for this fight. It’s a huge fight for him. Even though he’s 6-2, I think he’s 8-0," trainer Ray Longo said. "He’s right where he wants to be. This is going to be a good benchmark for him to see where he’s at."

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UFC 266 a tough but deserving test for Merab Dvalishvili against Marlon Moraes

UFC 266 a tough but deserving test for Merab Dvalishvili

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