Sterling recently competed for his first UFC championship against then-champion, Petr Yan at UFC 259. His corner consisted of a very familiar face in longtime Serra-Longo Fight Team coach, Ray Longo, but saw a new addition in Xtreme Couture coach Eric Nicksick, who Sterling worked with while out in Las Vegas.
A noticeably absence was Matt Serra, who has been a part of Sterling’s corner for several years. Serra later explained his absence on an episode of his UFC Unfiltered podcast and said that he was “hurt” to learn he would be left out of such a big moment for Sterling, which led to him retiring from cornering altogether.