Aljamain
Sterling wants to fight Jean Silva
to determine the next challenger for
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight gold.

Silva submitted Jose
Delgado in the third round of the main event of
Noche UFC 4, then called for a shot at the winner of the
upcoming Alexander
Volkanovski vs. Movsar
Evloev championship bout set to headline
UFC 333. Sterling, however, believes Silva needs to go through
him if he wants a title shot.

Aljamain Sterling proposes December showdown with Jean Silva in
UFC featherweight title race

Sterling, who has won his last bouts, had initially suggested a
November matchup with Silva at Madison Square Garden. The former
bantamweight champ is also open to fighting “Lord†in December, so
the latter has ample time to heal and prepare.

“Even if it's a Fight Night, I don't give a f*ck,†Sterling said on
his YouTube channel. “December, run that sh*t. Run that sh*t. Run
that sh*t. All I'm saying is, I want to give him the fair
opportunity to heal, be ready, be the best version of himself, and
I would love to have that fight. I want to fight the fights that
make the most sense; the biggest names, the fights that get me
somewhere. Not just taking random fights just to say I fought this
guy. Bro, I don't give a f*ck. I'm 37. It's time to sh*t or get off
the pot.â€

Sterling also believes the timing works well for the division,
particularly with Volkanovski and Evloev scheduled to collide in
October.

“So, the most common-sense thing, in my personal opinion, is to let
us figure it out and see who wins,†Sterling added. “We both stay
busy, stay active and get a clear-cut No. 1 contender for the
title. I know they had the ‘Beware of Dog' signs, but I got
something for that. I like to think my style is the ultimate
equalizer. Just like they talk about power, I got something
else.â€

Sterling is coming off wins over Brian
Ortega and Youssef
Zalal. He's now 3-1 since moving up to the featherweight
division, with his lone defeat at 145 pounds coming in a Fight of
the Night against Evloev in 2024.

Ilia
Topuria's brother, Aleksandre
Topuria, is reportedly set to return to action in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship later this year.

The 30-year-old bantamweight is in talks to face Santiago
Luna at UFC Qatar
on Nov. 21 in Doha, according to Ãlvaro Colmenero.

Aleksandre Topuria is in talks to face Santiago Luna at UFC
Qatar

Aleksandre (7-1) hasn't competed since defeating Bekzat
Almakhan by unanimous decision in November last year, which
marked his second UFC win. He hasn't been active in recent years,
primarily focusing on coaching his brother Ilia, the former
featherweight and lightweight champion.

With Ilia having recently lost the lightweight title to Justin
Gaethje at
UFC Freedom 250 and set to return only next year, Aleksandre
will look to pick up his third Octagon victory in November. His
opponent, Luna (8-1), is 2-1 in the UFC and is coming off the lone
defeat of his professional career, a submission loss to Bryce
Mitchell this past June.

The only other rumored bout for the event is a middleweight clash
between Ikram
Aliskerov and former title challenger Jared
Cannonier.

Algunos me habéis preguntado respecto a la
pelea entre Aleksandre
Topuria y Santiago
Luna, una info que ha dado @realkevink

Lo cierto es que SÃ que he escuchado acerca de esta pelea para
Qatar, pero no había podido confirmar que estuviera cerrada y
firmada

Ojalá que se dé 👌🻠pic.twitter.com/ziNMA72dwe

— Ãlvaro Colmenero (@KOlmeneroMMA)
September 15, 2026

Ilia
Topuria is back to full fitness.

The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight and lightweight
titleholder recently announced that he has completed medical
testing and received clearance to resume competition three months
after his loss to Justin
Gaethje at
UFC Freedom 250.

Ilia Topuria teases Justin Gaethje rematch after receiving
medical clearance

Gaethje nearly got finished in the second round and weathered the
storm before piling on the damage against Topuria in the main event
of the White House card. “El Matador†sustained significant facial
damage in the bout, to the point where his vision was severely
affected. Topuria's corner called for the end of the fight after
the fourth round, crowning Gaethje the new undisputed champ.

Topuria recently took to social media to announce that he has been
cleared to return to full training.

“Final medical tests done. I'm back,†Topuria wrote on X. “To all
the clowns who've been talking sh*t and counting me out this whole
time, here I am. Now let's see who's got the balls. Thanks to
everyone for the support. Next time I'll make sure they check
Justin's gloves so he doesn't put anything weird on them. See you
soon.â€

A rematch is strongly rumored while the championship mix at
lightweight remains largely open. Charles
Oliveira, Max
Holloway and Paddy
Pimblett are all coming off wins and gunning for a rematch with
Gaethje, who's revealed he's returning to action next year.

Final medical tests done. I'm back. To all
the clowns who've been talking shit and counting me out this whole
time, here I am. Now let's see who's got the balls. Thanks to
everyone for the support. Next time I'll make sure they check
Justin's gloves so he doesn't put anything…

— Ilia
Topuria (@Topuriailia)
September 16, 2026