As his UFC 292 fight against Sean O'Malley approaches, it's becoming more and more likely that this may be bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling's final fight in the weight class. Because of this, the question emerges — is he the greatest of all time in the 135-pound division?

For some observers, the idea may seem preposterous. However, Sterling's impressive stats and victories over some of the division's biggest names give him a compelling case. Yet, to truly surpass the heights of divisional legends like Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw, Sterling still has some work to do. Here's why Aljamain Sterling is not quite the bantamweight GOAT… yet.

First, let's look at the arguments for Sterling. “Funk Master” has won his last nine fights in a row which is not only the longest active streak today — it's the most in divisional history. He boasts 14 victories in total which is the most in bantamweight history. He has four victories in bantamweight title fights which is joint-second with Cruz and Renan Barao and just one behind Dillashaw. And perhaps the most impressive stat is that his three consecutive bantamweight title defenses are the most in UFC history. Then, there's his resume. Sterling holds wins over the likes of Dillashaw, Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan (x2), Cory Sandhagen and Pedro Munhoz just to name a few.

All that said, his big wins look good on paper — especially in title fights — but they need to be contextualized.

It simply cannot be ignored how Sterling won the title in the first place. After getting dominated by Petr Yan for just over four rounds, Sterling would win the title by disqualification after an illegal knee from the Russian. It's not the way anyone wants to win a title and Sterling's perceived “acting” after the illegal shot didn't help matters one bit nor did the fact that he would be out for a year soon after as he required surgery.

He did look much better and redeem himself in the eventual rematch with Yan which he won by split decision. However, that was also a close and competitive fight with many thought Yan deserved to win or draw at the very least. UFC president Dana White seemed to think so as well: “I thought that the judges blew that one. I had it 3-2 the other way. I don’t know how you guys scored it. I guess it’s all in how you score that first round.”

Then, there's Sterling's most recent win at UFC 288 where he defeated a returning Henry Cejudo. Despite being the bigger man and Cejudo coming off a three-year layoff, it was a competitive fight which Sterling eventually won via unanimous decision. However, like the Yan fight, many felt the decision could (or should) have gone the other way.

Essentially, his title reign as a whole doesn't reflect well when contextualized (and might be a big reason he doesn't get the respect he feels he deserves from fans) and while certain stats do go in his favor, that alone shouldn't be enough to eclipse him to GOAT status. After all, there's a reason why many observers have Georges St-Pierre above Kamaru Usman as the welterweight GOAT despite the latter boasting some superior divisional records and stats.

Cruz largely remains the bantamweight GOAT for most and that's because he was not only the first UFC bantamweight champion — he was also a two-time champion with more or less dominant wins over the likes of Urijah Faber (x2), Dillashaw (at his prime), Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez (x2) all of which came during a 13-fight unbeaten streak. Like Sterling, he also holds 14 bantamweight wins but that includes his WEC run.

If it's not Cruz, it's likely Dillashaw who is also a two-time champion with the most victories in UFC bantamweight title fights (5), dominant wins over the likes of Renan Barao (x2), Cody Garbrandt (x2) and Raphael Assuncao, and 13 bantamweight wins overall. Neither of them had question marks during any part of their title reign.

All this isn't to put Sterling down. He still remains one of the greatest bantamweights of all time regardless of the result on Saturday due to his overall body of work. He plans on moving up with a win over O'Malley and given recency bias, many are likely to be quick to call Sterling the bantamweight GOAT with a win at UFC 292. If it's a decisive win, that may even be enough. However, if it's close and competitive yet again, Sterling will likely need at least a couple more wins to truly cement himself of the unofficial accolade.