Overview

• Sterling defeated Ortega by unanimous decision with three 50-45 scorecards in the Shanghai co-main event.
• The bout was contested at a 153-pound catchweight after Ortega missed weight and was reportedly hospitalized during his cut.
• Sterling said a Round 4 spinning elbow left him unable to keep his arm up, and he later shared images of a swollen elbow and described numbness.
• Referee Herb Dean warned Sterling for inactivity in Round 5, a decision Sterling’s coach Ray Longo labeled a “horrible call.”
• After the win, Sterling lobbied for a shot at Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight title, as Lerone Murphy staked his own claim and Sean O’Malley took a jab on social media.