How Would 'The Funkmaster' Do in a Matchup with 'The Great'?
Aljamain ‘The Funkmaster’ Sterling looked phenomenal in his win over Youssef Zalal. He put on a vintage Sterling performance, suffocating the younger fighter with his pressure and dominating him from his signature backpack position. Toward the end of the fight, Zalal looked broken, tired, and beaten down, and ‘The Funkmaster’ was smiling from the back position. Following the fight, he called out former opponent Movsar Evloev and current champion Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski. A matchup between Volkanovski and Sterling is an exciting prospect for the Featherweight Division.
When Volkanovski is at his best, he looks almost unbeatable. In the third of his three victories over all-time great Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway, he dominated every striking exchange, all the more impressive when you consider that Holloway himself is one of the greatest UFC fighters ever. Volkanovski achieved dominant finishes over Yair Rodriguez and The Korean Zombie. Plus has wins over a host of other elite featherweights.
Sterling, on the other hand, often wins by the skin of his teeth. Of his four title wins, two were split decisions, and one came over a severely injured TJ Dillashaw, who came into the fight with a severe problem in his shoulder. Despite these asterisks, he is very clearly elite, even up a weight class at featherweight, where Volkanovski is the champion. ‘The Funkmaster’ has posted victories over Zalal, Calvin Kattar, and Brian Ortega since moving to 145, and displayed much of the same characteristics that made him elite at bantamweight. Sterling is tenacious in the grappling, has some of the best top pressure in the sport, and has deceptive, unorthodox striking.
As the saying goes, style makes fights, and this is a rough style for ‘The Funkmaster’ to get a victory against. Volkanovski is short, stocky, and has proven on multiple occasions that he can hang with the best of them on the ground. A career of excellent takedown defence, footwork, and cagecraft all point toward ‘The Great’ being very capable of stopping Sterling’s takedowns. On the flip side of things, the striking appears lopsided. Volkanovski is one of, if not the, greatest strikers of all time, whereas Sterling has proved capable but ultimately basic and unrefined in that regard. In addition, one of the common advantages fighters will have over Volkanovski is youth; the champ is 37. Sterling, however, is only one year younger. If the two fight, look for Volkanovski to make quick work of ‘The Funkmaster.’ Although the card has already been announced, late additions have already been made, and it’s possible that the famously ever-ready Volkanovski would be willing to defend his belt at UFC Freedom 250, which was announced last month.
