Aljamain Sterling had to watch Petr Yan and Corey Sandhagen, two of his former opponents, compete at UFC 267 for a chance to win the UFC interim bantamweight title. The bout had been getting a lot of attention due to the controversial nature of the bantamweight championship.

Aljamain Sterling won the title back in March 2021 after Petr Yan hit him with an illegal knee and the fight was ruled a disqualification. The title then went to Sterling and the new champion has faced hate from the fans ever since.

UFC 267 was supposed to see Aljamain Sterling rematch Petr Yan and put all of the nonsense behind them. Sterling was deemed ‘not healthy' and was unable to compete at UFC 267. Corey Sandhagen was the man to step up on short notice.

Now Sterling says he is almost healed up and has a return date in mind. The current bantamweight champion is hoping for an early 2022 title defense.

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“I told [UFC matchmaker Sean] Shelby right after that fight was done, ‘January or February? You let me know,'” Sterling said on The MMA Hour.

The delay and injury stemmed from a neck surgery Aljamain Sterling had earlier in the year. The surgery took a long time to heal and the New York-based fighter had no choice but to wait.

Now things are headed in the right direction and Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling have an idea on when they'll get a chance to unify the titles. January or February 2022 will see the bantamweight division, hopefully, get back to normal.