“There is a reason why I didn’t call Alex, I didn’t want to fight him. There are a few things that I didn't like about the fight against Cejudo. I have to fix this, otherwise if I go against Volkanovski, it will be a cruel and long night for me.
I'm not going to run away from Alex. But if we had a fight, I would have ended up in the hospital. It's fair," Sterling was quoted as saying by MMA Junkie.
On May 7 at UFC 288, Sterling defended his title for the third time, defeating Henry Cejudo via split decision.
Watch this story:
Sterling doesn't care about Khabib's accomplishments