Aaron Pico’s next fight leaked by Aljamain Sterling when revealing talks with the UFC for his return

Aljamain Sterling suggested that the UFC mentioned Aaron Pico and Kevin Vallejos as potential fights for him.

Reports have linked Alexander Volkanovski to UFC 333 in October following a long wait for the current featherweight champion.

While many expect to see Mosvar Evloev be his next challenger, another contender is still holding out hope for a title shot.

Sterling has campaigned for a clash with Volkanovski, but recently shared the latest updates he’s had from the UFC regarding what’s next.

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Aljamain Sterling says Aaron Pico vs Youssef Zalal is already booked

Along with a conversation about drinking during training camp, Joe Rogan and Aljamain Sterling spoke about the landscape of the featherweight division during their recent podcast.

Jean Silva being booked to face Yair Rodriguez at Noche UFC means there aren’t too many options near the top of the rankings for ‘Funk Master’.

Sterling seemed to suggest that the man he defeated in April over five rounds has already been booked to face one opponent that could have been next for him.

“They floated names,” he said on the JRE MMA Show. “[Aaron] Pico’s now booked with [Youssef] Zalal. There’s [Kevin] Vallejos but with Vallejos, that’s going so far back again for me like it’s not a fight that makes a ton of sense for me but, whatever these guys want to do. I’ve never said no. Maybe that’s a problem.”

Pico is ranked four spots below Zalal in the Meta rankings but considering that one of them is coming off a win and the other recently lost, this matchup makes a lot of sense.

Sterling holds the #4 spot which would mean facing a contender that is six positions below him if he were to face the rising star Vallejos.

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Aljamain Sterling continues to push for a UFC title shot despite conversations

The names the UFC has mentioned to Aljamain Sterling as potential opponents suggest the promotion isn’t on the same page as him regarding a title shot.

He told Joe Rogan that he ideally still wants to fight for the belt next time out, despite it looking very likely that Movsar Evloev will be next, which means he’d have to wait to face the winner.

“Especially if Volkanovski wins,” he said. “This is a big fight you can make. Two OGs of their weight classes. Everything I’ve done in the bantamweight division, set the records, why not?”