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DALLAS – Growing up, UFC bantamweight Aljamain Sterling learned to give back as good as he got when it came to talking smack. If things weren’t settled verbally, they were with fists.

Sterling (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) isn’t thrown off by the constant trash talk of his upcoming opponent, Cody Stamann (17-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC). But when they settle up physically, he plans to make his opponent pay for his words.

“Sometimes, I used to have a tendency when I took guys down, I just wanted to choke them out (and say), ‘You did well, good job, thanks for coming,’” said Sterling, who meets Stamann on the FX-televised prelims of UFC 228 on Saturday at American Airlines Center in Dallas. “But this time, I’m going to take you down, and just know I’m going to put a little extra stank on those elbows.

“I’m trying to leave him a couple of bruises to remember me by.”

Sterling loves to portray Stamann as a brief diversion on his way back to meaningful fights in the bantamweight division, though he respects the skills his opponent brings to the table.

“He still doesn’t even have a blue check (next to his name on Twitter),” Sterling said when asked what a win over Stamann means. “I’m joking, but not really. I think this puts me back into title contention. It has to.”

Once a crowd of top contenders thins out at the top, Sterling believes he’ll be waiting as a No. 1 contender.

“Now that the saga between (champ) T.J. (Dillashaw) and Cody (Garbrandt) is finally over, we can finally move on with the division and quit log-jamming it. Now, we’ve just got to figure out what we’re going to do with (Dominick) Cruz, and Marlon (Moraes), and (Raphael) Assuncao, and go from there.”

Sterling feels more prepared than ever to capitalize this time. With his preparation locked and his mind right, he feels he’s on the cusp of something big. All he has to do is execute like he’s supposed to on Saturday.

“He has to put me out in order to win this fight,” he said of Stamann. “That’s how I honestly feel. Cody, you better bring your ‘A’ game. That’s all I can say.”

To hear more from Sterling, check out the video above.

For more on UFC 228, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.