Aljamain Sterling Withdraws from UFC 307 Fight vs. Movsar Evloev Due to Injury

Aljamain Sterling announced Wednesday that he'll be unable to compete at UFC 307 after suffering an injury in sparring.

The former bantamweight champion said the injury doesn't require surgery, but UFC doctors advised him he won't have enough time to make a full recovery before his Oct. 5 bout with Movsar Evloev.

Sterling rebounded from his 2023 defeat to Sean O'Malley by earning a unanimous decision over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 in April, which was his featherweight debut. He reflected later in an appearance on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting's Shaun Al-Shatti) he would've considered retiring altogether if he had lost to Kattar.

The 35-year-old is the ninth-ranked featherweight challenger, so opposing Evloev (No. 6) was an opportunity to continue burnishing his credentials within the division. Instead, he'll have to wait to make his next appearance in the Octagon.

With Sterling's announcement so fresh, it's unclear whether the UFC will try to line up a replacement opponent for Evloev or take him off the card altogether.

Evloev vs. Sterling was one of 10 fights on the UFC 307 main card. The event is co-headlined by a pair of title clashes. Alex Pereira will put the light heavyweight championship up against Khalil Rountree Jr., while Julianna Peña will challenge Raquel Pennington for the women's bantamweight gold.