![]() ![]() ![]() There are, however, some similarities in their games.īoth Jones and Sterling have bases in wrestling, excellent submission instincts and an innovative striking offense. The two belong to the same management company now, First Round, but don't talk much. Jones actually filmed Sterling's first college match. Sterling (10-0) and Jones, older by two years, were junior college wrestling teammates at SUNY Morrisville. The only thing I would say was I was hoping they would build this fight a little bit more with me fighting somebody else and then putting a little more hype around me fighting a top-10 guy." "I don't even know how to describe it," Sterling said. The 25-year-old isn't even ranked, yet he's nearly a 3-to-1 favorite over Mizugaki, who has fought the best the division has to offer since before Sterling had his first fight. On Saturday, Sterling will face perennial top-10 bantamweight Takeya Mizugaki at UFC on FOX 15 in Newark. ![]() He's on track now to make major noise in the UFC. Sterling's ascent has been slower, but steady. He has a chance to go down as the greatest MMA fighter to ever live. Jones' rise to the top of the UFC's rankings has been meteoric. His main thing that he tried to always tell me was the power of the mind and believing in yourself and your capabilities." "He showed me some things from time to time," Sterling said. When Sterling showed up at Team BombSquad, Jones was just a novice and leaving soon for Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA in Albuquerque, N.M. ![]() That former teammate? None other than current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. It turned out the fight team worked out in the same upstate New York town Sterling was going to school in. So, he shot a message to his ex-teammate and asked for details. Still, he thought doing some training outside of his wrestling team at SUNY Cortland would be cool. The photos were of his friend at a gym training in MMA.Īt the time, Sterling enjoyed watching the UFC when it was on, but wasn't exactly a hardcore fan. He will teach physical education at Liberty Middle School and Liberty Elementary School in Liberty, N.Y.Aljamain Sterling was browsing MySpace one day about six years ago and stumbled on some pictures posted by a former wrestling teammate. The clubs range from standards like baseball and football to less mainstream athletic activities such as ultimate Frisbee, kickline, hoop dance, Tae Kwon Do and Quiddich, an earthbound adaption of the magical game depicted in “Harry Potter” books and movies.Ĭompton, 25, walked in Commencement ceremonies last month, but is still enrolled in the College because he will be completing his student teaching requirement this fall. Men’s rugby is one of 34 competitive club sports offered to SUNY Cortland students through the College’s Recreational Sports Program. The Northeast lost 21-14, but won a consolation match the following day against the West’s second squad, 41-15. He played prop, a key position in the center of a rugby scrum. I never thought it would take me this far.”Ĭompton made the starting, 15-man lineup that the Northeast Rugby Union fielded against the West All-Star team in Glendale, Colo. “I knew I wanted to play ball in college, but I didn’t want to sit on the bench,” Compton said. He began playing rugby about three years ago, after coming to SUNY Cortland. “He’s been recognized as one of the best rugby players in the country, and he learned to play the game here at SUNY Cortland.”Ĭompton, a former high-school football and baseball player, from Jeffersonville, N.Y., spent more than a year serving with the Rangers in Iraq. “We are very proud of Mike’s accomplishment,” said SUNY Cortland President Erik J. The Northeast Rugby Union is the coordinating body for rugby throughout New York and New England. Michael Compton, a SUNY Cortland senior who spent three years as an Army ranger, is once again part of a respected, select group: the Northeast Rugby Union All-Star Team.Ĭompton, a physical education major who plays prop for the Cortland Rugby Team, traveled to Colorado last week to play in the national Men’s Collegiate All-Star Championship after being selected for the team. ![]()
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