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In Saturday's UFC Fight Night 257 co-main event, Sterling (20-5 MMA, 17-5 UFC) cruised to a unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) win over Ortega (16-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) at Shanghai Indoor Stadium in Shanghai.
Sterling was really feeling himself in the third frame. The 36-year-old landed his jab at will, scored another low kick knockdown, and finished with a spinning elbow like the one Lerone Murphy KO’d Aaron Pico with at UFC 319 last weekend.
Aljamain Sterling secured a lopsided decision win in the UFC Shanghai co-main event over a largely inactive Brian Ortega in what ultimately transformed into a 153-pound catchtweight fight on Saturday.
Former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega is not out of his co-main event bout against Aljamain Sterling despite reports.
The South Bay star spent part of the year “traveling to train” ahead of Saturday’s Shanghai showdown with the former bantamweight champion.
On Saturday night, Brian Ortega and Aljamain Sterling are now set to compete at a catchweight of 153 pounds. Despite the promotion’s call to move the bout to being closer to a lightweight contest than a featherweight one, fans were still concerned for Ortega after he stepped on the scales.
In a fight that saw a major last-minute change, does Brian Ortega or Aljamain Sterling have the edge at UFC Shanghai?
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Aljamain Sterling vs. Brian Ortega reworked at catchweight after medical scare at UFC Shanghai
Aljamain Sterling vs. Brian Ortega survives chaos after Ortega medical scare, fight revived at 153 catchweight in dramatic MMA twist.
Aljamain Sterling has hit out at a “kind of stupid” rule in his UFC Shanghai fight with Brian Ortega this weekend. On Saturday (23 August), Sterling will face Ortega in a five-round co-main event, as each man looks to push towards a featherweight title shot.
Brian Ortega is still competing tomorrow morning (Sat.., Aug. 23, 2025) at UFC Shanghai from Shanghai, China, but not after an apparent ride in an ambulance. On Thursday evening, it was revealed that Ortega was not going to be able to make weight for his co-main event matchup against fellow UFC featherweight Aljamain Sterling.