It has been several months since Aljamain Sterling returned to the UFC octagon. What could be the reason behind it? Is he not getting an appropriate opponent, or is there a bigger picture in the mix? However, amid those speculations, Sterling wants to stay active if not in MMA, at least in wrestling.

“RAF news: Aljamain Sterling is replacing the injured Chad Mendes this Saturday at RAF 06 in Tempe, AZ,” confirmed Ariel Helwani on X. “Aljo will face Benson Henderson at 170 pounds.”

Real American Freestyle (RAF) 6 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona. With former UFC superstars like Henry Cejudo and Urijah Faber headlining the event, it also features many other top MMA names. Among the mix, Arman Tsarukyan will also wrestle against Georgio Poullas.

The undercard features a matchup between Chad Mendes and Benson Henderson. Although Helwani reports Sterling as the replacement for injured Mendes, the official statement is yet to be made. Now, RAF has been generating a lot of buzz lately and pulling some of the veteran and top UFC fighters has been one of the reasons behind it.

Most recently, RAF 5 was headlined by a clash between Colby Covington and Luke Rockhold. Surely that makes the platform interesting, and now ‘Funk Master’ has a chance to scrap against a former UFC lightweight champion.

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But Sterling opting to make his RAF debut, days after his comments on UFC inactivity, builds another interesting layer of speculation. But what did the 36-year-old exactly say?

Aljamain Sterling on UFC future and inactivity

Aljamain Sterling had an impressive stint at the UFC bantamweight division. And moving to 145-pound division, his performance remained the same. Apart from a split decision loss to Movsar Evloev, Sterling has defeated veterans like Calvin Kattar and Brian Ortega.

Despite that, he seems to be disappointed with the UFC over his inactivity. As such, Sterling wishes not to get “iced” again.

“I’m just here for a good time,” said Sterling during UFC 324 red carpet media scrum. “I don’t have much time left in the tank, so I got to get it going if I want to try to get another belt. I have to start now. Hope they don’t ice me again like they did last year. One fight for the year, that was tough. I would like to get two or three this year. That’s the goal.”

Surely, at 36 years of age, Sterling does not want to stretch his career and attempt to capture the featherweight title as soon as possible. But as of now, he still seems to be a bit far away from title contention.

Currently, undefeated stars Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy are two of the fighters who are next in line for a title shot. As such, they are scheduled to fight at UFC London on March 21. And the winner will surely fight the featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

However, like Sterling, Jean Silva, and Yair Rodriguez are in the same boat, waiting for a shot. Due to that, ‘Funk Master’ might have to overcome Silva or Rodriguez to climb the ranks. But the ultimate decision eventually lies with the UFC.

That said, who do you think Sterling fights next? Let us know in the comments below!