Aljamain Sterling may not have got the date in New York City he was hoping for, but ask the Long Island man now and will tell you he’s more than happy with his spot on the UFC Fight Night Albany card on December 9.

Tough assignment

Sterling will meet Brazilian Raphael Assuncao in a fight that could well put either man back in the title talk with a win. Speaking to the UFC Unfiltered podcast this week, Sterling said he is well aware of the formidable task he has in front of him.

“He’s a tough guy,” Sterling said. “He’s bouncing right back. He fought TJ [Dillashaw] at UFC 200 and it was a close fight. I mean, he’s nothing impressive, it’s nothing that I’ve not seen before. I’m excited about this, I think it’s a fantastic matchup for me.”

Hunting a finish

Known for his strong wrestling background and ground game, Sterling believes now is the time for him to prove his standup skills and engage his opponents more on the feet. Sterling said he was going to try and showcase this in Albany and that he will be looking for a devastating finish.

“I’m looking for a TKO,” Sterling said bluntly. “I’m not looking to jiu-jitsu this guy. I think I proved a point in my last fight what I can do with my jiu-jitsu and I think in this one I’ve got to be a little bit meaner than I used to be in the past.

“I’ve been wanting to fight, but not look for a more type of all-out brawl kind of fight. I think this fight is going to get a little nasty. This fight is going to be the one.”

Learning the lessons from the Caraway fight

Sterling is coming off the back of the first loss of his career to Bryan Caraway back in May. Having had a significant amount of time pass since then, the Serra-Longo man believes that fight taught him some valuable lessons.

“I 100 percent think I learned a lot from that,” Sterling said. “One of the things I learned was, when you’re prepared, you’re prepared. Fight week, I’m one of those guys that kind of goes nuts and I’m still doing two workouts a day—fight day I did three workouts before the actual fight and people don’t know that.

“Matt was telling me, people telling me, but I get so super paranoid that I want to make sure every small thing is accounted for and I feel like I did that. In the grand scheme of things though I think I kind of shot myself in the foot and I shot my load and expended too much energy. Fight week I came down and I was like 143 pounds and that’s the lightest I’ve ever been coming into a fight. Fight week I came down and I was only like a few pounds overweight and I think I was the lightest guys there.”

Lack of experience cost him

While his over training was one factor he alluded to, Sterling said his lack of experience was a big factor in some of his poor decision making in the fight.

“For me not to have to worry about my weight as much, but still doing these two workouts a day, when you are ready you are ready,” Sterling reiterated. “I think it was the best training camp I ever had, I think I was more than prepared for everything and event when I was tired in the fight I think I more than held my own and I didn’t sustain any damage and I don’t think anything significant happened to say I was outclassed.

“There were definitely some fight IQ mistakes. Staying basic, trying not to do fancy things. Even when he was on my back, I stood with him on back. Certain things I just didn’t think about during the fight and I just lost my flow and that’s when your experience comes in.”

Back and ready for anything

With that all behind him now, Sterling’s message was simple. He’s back and he’s better than ever.

“I’m ready to fight and I’m well trained,” Sterling said. “I just got to believe in that and not go too crazy.”