Aljamain Sterling reveals retirement timeline ahead of UFC 292: ‘I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately’

Ahead of his return to the Octagon at UFC 292 next month, undisputed bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling has revealed that while he is still attempting to feather his nest ahead of a potential retirement – he has been thinking about walking away from the sport for some time, and when that date may actually come.

Sterling, the current undisputed bantamweight champion, is slated to headline UFC 292 in August at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts – taking on the surging number two ranked contender, Sean O’Malley. 

Returning to the Octagon this year back in May, Sterling landed a close, split decision win over the returning former undisputed bantamweight and flyweight champion, Henry Cejudo – defending his title successfully against the Olympic gold medalist.

The victory came as Uniondale native, Sterling’s third as defending bantamweight champion, separating himself from prior championship holders.

Aljamain Sterling reveals plan for potential retirement

Confirming plans to make a featherweight division leap regardless of result against Montana native, O’Malley next month, Sterling – who has also been offered a title fight against 145lbs champion, Alexander Volkanovski last week, revealed a potential timeframe for his retirement from combat sports.

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately,” Aljamain Sterling said on The Weekly Scraps. “I don’t know, man, I’ve been taking this one fight at a time. I think I’m a that age where I haven’t made enough money. The motivation is still money and making my safety egg of when I retire, that my interest will pay my salary monthly, what I would like to comfortably live off while doing other things.”

“Podcasting – maybe coaching on the side, maybe being a school teacher, who knows?” Aljamain Sterling explained. “Maybe being an analyst for the UFC or ESPN, something like that. I think there’s a lot of opportunities that I have on the table, and then I’ve got my rum company that’s coming out. That could be my next new venture, and potentially getting into the restaurant business. But i do think I have at least five more wins in me to hit that 20 win club in the UFC.” (Transcribed by MMA News)

Unbeaten in his last nine consecutive fights, during his title run, Sterling has defended the crown against former champions, Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw, and the aforenoted, Cejudo.