“I’m Trippin”: Aljamain Sterling Sees Traits of Prime Conor McGregor in Emerging UFC Sensation

Prime Conor McGregor was always such a treat to watch. Seeing the Irishman dancing inside the cage with his signature hands low wide Karate, after walked out to Sinead O’Connor singing Foggy Dew stance still evokes a lot of memories. Now, while he is currently on the sidelines, the promotion has allegedly found someone with a similar southpaw stance, forcing experts to draw parallels.

Former bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling has pointed out how Mauricio ‘One Shot’ Ruffy shadows the Irishman’s fighting style. Reflecting on a new video on the internet showing Ruffy’s exceptional mitt work, the ‘Funkmaster’ couldn’t help but be reminded of a younger, hungrier McGregor.

“He has some vintage Conor like movements and ppl were telling me I’m trippin. The flow is very similar and fun to watch.” 

He has some vintage Conor like movements and ppl were telling me I’m trippin. The flow is very similar and fun to watch. https://t.co/atWrn5iaMQ

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) October 2, 2024

In fact, the featherweight is bang on with his analogy. Mauricio, from some angles, certainly reminds one of a prime Conor McGregor, light on his feet, unpredictable with his strikes, but mostly just fast… so fast and so accurate. Every shot he hit counted.

In the video, the fighter can be seen firing away lighting strikes, mixing things up with elbows and looping kicks all while remaining on the balls of his feet, moving in and out, slipping past just like what Conor used to be like back in the day.

In the meantime, Ruffy who made his promotional debut at UFC 301 in Brazil made a startling comment when he called out the lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev after decimating Jamie Mullarkey.

Ruffy’s bizarre Islam callout turns heads

Having already beat the champion’s sparring partner, Raimond Magomedaliev at 170 pounds, ‘One Shot’ felt like he would call out Islam Makhachev after his UFC debut.

Th southpaw faced Aussie sensation Jamie Mullarkey for his debut, a man widely known for his resilience and toughness but all Jamie could do was delay the inevitable.

In fact, Ruffy came up with a barrage of strikes landing directly Mullarkey’s chin, dropping him to the ground in the opening round.

While the Australian showed his tenacity, returning to his feet momentarily, he was dropped again by a frightening flying knee and uppercut which prompted the referee, Mike Beltran to step in and call it off.

With a stellar R1 KO win, Ruffy went on to call out the Russian powerhouse. Later, in an exclusive to Sherdog, he explained the bizarre callout and said,

“Since I beat his (Islam Makhachev) best sparring partner (Raimond Magomedaliev) in a higher weight class (170 pounds) on the Contender Series, I thought it was a good moment to make a statement.” 

Next the 30-year-old wants King Green, asking the UFC to match him next with the swift southpaw –

“I would love to face Bobby Green because of the style matchup. He loves stand-up fights and I think it would be a war. And I could knock him out in the first round.”