Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight (135 lbs.) Champion Aljamain Sterling will try his luck in a new division when he takes on Calvin Kattar in a featherweight (145 lbs.) contest at UFC 300 in Las Vegas on April 13.

The 34-year-old Sterling, born in New York to Jamaican parents, will be looking to rebound from losing his bantamweight title via second round TKO to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 in Boston on August 19.

Before that fight, Sterling was unbeaten in nine fights since a 2017 loss to former title challenger, Brazilian Marlon Moraes.

In 2021, Sterling won the title in controversial fashion after UFC 259 opponent Petr Yan was disqualified after throwing an illegal knee.

A year later at UFC 273, Sterling successfully beat Yan in a rematch before producing two more successful title defenses over former champions TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo at UFC 280 and 288, respectively.

His three successful title defenses are the most in the history of the UFC Bantamweight division.

UFC 300 marks the start of a new chapter of Sterling’s career with the move up to featherweight.

His opponent for the showpiece event, Calvin Kattar, is currently seventh on the UFC Featherweight rankings and is coming off a pair of losses to Josh Emmett (currently ranked #6) and Arnold Allen (currently ranked #4).

“I think this is going to be a banger fight,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel.

“I feel good about how everything’s been going. I’m loving the training right now. We’ve been able to add some new stuff to the game working on some technical things,” he added.

Sterling was usually able to use a wrestling-heavy style at bantamweight because of a size advantage over most of his opponents.

Most people would think that with a move up in weight, his style would change as well. Sterling says this will not be the case.

“My game is not going to change. I’m not going to change what got me to the show but it’s always good to evolve in case Calvin puts me in these situations where I’m forced to fight a certain way, we’ll be ready and that’s the most important thing,” he said.

As for the move up to featherweight, Sterling says he’s excited for the new chapter.

“I can’t wait. There are so many good fights, so many good guys. It’s going to be a dog pack to get through and, if I can get through this the same way I did at 35, that’s going to be a huge feather in my cap and something that I’m going to appreciate for the rest of my career and the rest of my life,” he said.

“It’s not easy changing weight classes. There’s a couple of things you have to get used to mentally. Coming from guys who are lighter where I kind of had my way in terms of grappling, it’s going to be interesting to see how this transition is going to pay off for me in the future,” Sterling added.

Alexander Volkanovski retained his UFC featherweight championship by defeating Jung Chan-sung via TKO in the fourth round at UFC 273 on Saturday.

The 33-year-old's record in the UFC improved to 11-0 with the impressive title defence, and it is his third consecutive win since winning the featherweight title.

Volkanovski's fight IQ was on full display from the outset and he was in control from the first round, staying patient with his striking and mixing up his targets.

With regards to potential opponents, now, the featherweight champion is confident against anyone.

"Everyone in my division, I've been saying it for a while, now," Volkanovski said. "Get your s*** together, earn that number one spot and you get it."

The Korean Zombie was cleanly tagged on three separate occasions by Volkanovski's left hook and could not manage to impact the champion's ability to both act and react as he felt his way through the fight.

The second round went on a similar tangent, with Jung particularly rattled midway through from a big right. The Zombie's legs got heavier as Volkanovski maintained a relentless pace, staying precise and patient with his striking.

Despite Jung growing more assertive in the third, he only just survived after another massive right hand late from Volkanovski, with the clock saving the Korean from the consequent ground and pound.

After a check to assess Jung's state at the end of the third, some more big strikes in the fourth led to referee Herb Dean stopping the fight within 45 seconds.

"Before this fight, all week, I said I'm on another level right now. I can't be stopped and I just showed you," Volkanovski said post-fight.

"He actually took a lot more than I wanted him to. I thought they could have stopped it earlier, I started feeling bad in there but that's the sport we're in."

Sterling stays the distance against Yan

In the co-main event, Aljamain Sterling claimed victory over Petr Yan in a controversial 48-47 47-48 48-47 split decision, to also retain his UFC Bantamweight Championship.

Both exhibited unorthodox striking but it was an overall different fight to their previous meeting at UFC 259, which Sterling won via DQ following Yan's illegal knee to the face.

The tension was prevalent throughout the rematch, with Sterling even smiling after he took Yan down for a second consecutive round in the third.

Sensing the momentum shift in the fight, Yan went on the offensive and neither could ultimately finish, but by that point Sterling had done enough to win on points.