diff --git a/cmd/rollout-operator/main.go b/cmd/rollout-operator/main.go
index 050839662..913e12485 100644
--- a/cmd/rollout-operator/main.go
+++ b/cmd/rollout-operator/main.go
@@ -62,8 +62,6 @@ type config struct {
 
 	useZoneTracker           bool
 	zoneTrackerConfigMapName string
-	deletionInterval         time.Duration
-	delayBetweenSts          time.Duration
 }
 
 func (cfg *config) register(fs *flag.FlagSet) {
@@ -90,8 +88,6 @@ func (cfg *config) register(fs *flag.FlagSet) {
 
 	fs.BoolVar(&cfg.useZoneTracker, "use-zone-tracker", false, "Use the zone tracker to prevent simultaneous downscales in different zones")
 	fs.StringVar(&cfg.zoneTrackerConfigMapName, "zone-tracker.config-map-name", "rollout-operator-zone-tracker", "The name of the ConfigMap to use for the zone tracker")
-	fs.DurationVar(&cfg.deletionInterval, "deletion-interval", 5*time.Minute, "[Deprecated]time to wait before actually terminating the pod")
-	fs.DurationVar(&cfg.delayBetweenSts, "delay-between-sts", 5*time.Minute, "time to wait between stateful sets")
 }
 
 func (cfg config) validate() error {
@@ -175,7 +171,7 @@ func main() {
 	maybeStartTLSServer(cfg, logger, kubeClient, restart, metrics)
 
 	// Init the controller.
-	c := controller.NewRolloutController(kubeClient, restMapper, scaleClient, dynamicClient, cfg.kubeNamespace, httpClient, cfg.reconcileInterval, cfg.delayBetweenSts, reg, logger)
+	c := controller.NewRolloutController(kubeClient, restMapper, scaleClient, dynamicClient, cfg.kubeNamespace, httpClient, cfg.reconcileInterval, reg, logger)
 	check(errors.Wrap(c.Init(), "failed to init controller"))
 
 	// Listen to sigterm, as well as for restart (like for certificate renewal).
diff --git a/integration/manifests_mock_service_test.go b/integration/manifests_mock_service_test.go
index 7605891c5..09a3735b8 100644
--- a/integration/manifests_mock_service_test.go
+++ b/integration/manifests_mock_service_test.go
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ func createMockServiceZone(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, api *kubernetes.Cl
 		_, err := api.AppsV1().StatefulSets(namespace).Create(ctx, mockServiceStatefulSet(name, "1", true), metav1.CreateOptions{})
 		require.NoError(t, err, "Can't create StatefulSet")
 	}
-
 	{
 		_, err := api.CoreV1().Services(namespace).Create(ctx, mockServiceService(name), metav1.CreateOptions{})
 		require.NoError(t, err, "Can't create Service")
diff --git a/integration/manifests_rollout_operator_test.go b/integration/manifests_rollout_operator_test.go
index f87211e10..9f7a201d2 100644
--- a/integration/manifests_rollout_operator_test.go
+++ b/integration/manifests_rollout_operator_test.go
@@ -59,7 +59,6 @@ func rolloutOperatorDeployment(namespace string, webhook bool) *appsv1.Deploymen
 		fmt.Sprintf("-kubernetes.namespace=%s", namespace),
 		"-reconcile.interval=1s",
 		"-log.level=debug",
-		"-delay-between-sts=0s",
 	}
 	if webhook {
 		args = append(args,
diff --git a/pkg/controller/controller.go b/pkg/controller/controller.go
index 3d63e36a4..bcab67ed8 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/controller.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/controller.go
@@ -66,11 +66,6 @@ type RolloutController struct {
 	// Used to signal when the controller should stop.
 	stopCh chan struct{}
 
-	//deletion interval related
-	delayBetweenSts time.Duration
-	lastUpdatedSts  *v1.StatefulSet
-	lastUpdatedTime time.Time
-
 	// Metrics.
 	groupReconcileTotal       *prometheus.CounterVec
 	groupReconcileFailed      *prometheus.CounterVec
@@ -82,7 +77,7 @@ type RolloutController struct {
 	discoveredGroups map[string]struct{}
 }
 
-func NewRolloutController(kubeClient kubernetes.Interface, restMapper meta.RESTMapper, scaleClient scale.ScalesGetter, dynamic dynamic.Interface, namespace string, client httpClient, reconcileInterval time.Duration, delayBetweenSts time.Duration, reg prometheus.Registerer, logger log.Logger) *RolloutController {
+func NewRolloutController(kubeClient kubernetes.Interface, restMapper meta.RESTMapper, scaleClient scale.ScalesGetter, dynamic dynamic.Interface, namespace string, client httpClient, reconcileInterval time.Duration, reg prometheus.Registerer, logger log.Logger) *RolloutController {
 	namespaceOpt := informers.WithNamespace(namespace)
 
 	// Initialise the StatefulSet informer to restrict the returned StatefulSets to only the ones
@@ -114,9 +109,6 @@ func NewRolloutController(kubeClient kubernetes.Interface, restMapper meta.RESTM
 		logger:               logger,
 		stopCh:               make(chan struct{}),
 		discoveredGroups:     map[string]struct{}{},
-		delayBetweenSts:      delayBetweenSts,
-		lastUpdatedSts:       nil,
-		lastUpdatedTime:      time.Time{},
 		groupReconcileTotal: promauto.With(reg).NewCounterVec(prometheus.CounterOpts{
 			Name: "rollout_operator_group_reconciles_total",
 			Help: "Total number of reconciles started for a specific rollout group.",
@@ -217,7 +209,7 @@ func (c *RolloutController) reconcile(ctx context.Context) error {
 	span, ctx := opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "RolloutController.reconcile()")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
-	level.Info(c.logger).Log("msg", "reconcile started")
+	level.Info(c.logger).Log("msg", "reconcile started (minReadySeconds version)")
 
 	sets, err := c.listStatefulSetsWithRolloutGroup()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -310,8 +302,6 @@ func (c *RolloutController) reconcileStatefulSetsGroup(ctx context.Context, grou
 	if len(notReadySets) == 1 {
 		level.Info(c.logger).Log("msg", "a StatefulSet has some not-Ready pods, reconcile it first", "statefulset", notReadySets[0].Name)
 		sets = util.MoveStatefulSetToFront(sets, notReadySets[0])
-		// sts could become not ready by other activities like UKI, we should consider this as last updated sts
-		c.updateLastUpdatedSts(notReadySets[0])
 	}
 
 	for _, sts := range sets {
@@ -325,7 +315,6 @@ func (c *RolloutController) reconcileStatefulSetsGroup(ctx context.Context, grou
 		if ongoing {
 			// Do not continue with other StatefulSets because this StatefulSet
 			// update is still ongoing.
-			c.updateLastUpdatedSts(sts)
 			return nil
 		}
 	}
@@ -499,20 +488,6 @@ func (c *RolloutController) listPods(sel labels.Selector) ([]*corev1.Pod, error)
 	return pods, nil
 }
 
-func (c *RolloutController) canUpdateSts(sts *v1.StatefulSet) bool {
-	if c.lastUpdatedSts == nil || c.lastUpdatedSts.Name == sts.Name {
-		// no need to wait within the same sts updates
-		return true
-	}
-	return time.Since(c.lastUpdatedTime) > c.delayBetweenSts
-}
-
-func (c *RolloutController) updateLastUpdatedSts(sts *v1.StatefulSet) {
-	c.lastUpdatedSts = sts
-	c.lastUpdatedTime = time.Now()
-	level.Debug(c.logger).Log("msg", "updated last updated sts", "sts", sts.Name, "time", c.lastUpdatedTime)
-}
-
 func (c *RolloutController) updateStatefulSetPods(ctx context.Context, sts *v1.StatefulSet) (bool, error) {
 	level.Debug(c.logger).Log("msg", "reconciling StatefulSet", "statefulset", sts.Name)
 
@@ -522,26 +497,19 @@ func (c *RolloutController) updateStatefulSetPods(ctx context.Context, sts *v1.S
 	}
 
 	if len(podsToUpdate) > 0 {
-		if !c.canUpdateSts(sts) {
-			// only check canUpdateSts if the current sts has pods to be updated
-			level.Info(c.logger).Log("msg", "delaying reconcile between StatefulSets updates",
-				"curr", sts.Name, "last", c.lastUpdatedSts.Name,
-				"delay", c.delayBetweenSts, "pods_to_update", len(podsToUpdate))
-			time.Sleep(c.delayBetweenSts)
-			// MUST return here:
-			// 1. pods state could change during the delay period, scan the entire cluster again
-			// 2. since we didn't actually update current sts, the last updated sts should not be changed
-			// 3. throw errors to not proceed with other StatefulSets
-			return false, errors.New("delaying reconcile between StatefulSets updates")
-		}
-
 		maxUnavailable := getMaxUnavailableForStatefulSet(sts, c.logger)
-		numNotReady := int(sts.Status.Replicas - sts.Status.ReadyReplicas)
+		var numNotAvailable int
+		if sts.Spec.MinReadySeconds > 0 {
+			level.Info(c.logger).Log("msg", "StatefulSet has minReadySeconds set, waiting before terminating pods", "statefulset", sts.Name, "min_ready_seconds", sts.Spec.MinReadySeconds)
+			numNotAvailable = int(sts.Status.Replicas - sts.Status.AvailableReplicas)
+		} else {
+			numNotAvailable = int(sts.Status.Replicas - sts.Status.ReadyReplicas)
+		}
 
 		// Compute the number of pods we should update, honoring the configured maxUnavailable.
 		numPods := max(0, min(
-			maxUnavailable-numNotReady, // No more than the configured maxUnavailable (including not-Ready pods).
-			len(podsToUpdate),          // No more than the total number of pods that need to be updated.
+			maxUnavailable-numNotAvailable, // No more than the configured maxUnavailable (including not-Ready pods).
+			len(podsToUpdate),              // No more than the total number of pods that need to be updated.
 		))
 
 		if numPods == 0 {
@@ -551,6 +519,7 @@ func (c *RolloutController) updateStatefulSetPods(ctx context.Context, sts *v1.S
 				"pods_to_update", len(podsToUpdate),
 				"replicas", sts.Status.Replicas,
 				"ready_replicas", sts.Status.ReadyReplicas,
+				"available_replicas", sts.Status.AvailableReplicas,
 				"max_unavailable", maxUnavailable)
 
 			return true, nil
@@ -584,6 +553,11 @@ func (c *RolloutController) updateStatefulSetPods(ctx context.Context, sts *v1.S
 			"statefulset", sts.Name)
 
 		return true, nil
+	} else if sts.Spec.MinReadySeconds > 0 && sts.Status.Replicas != sts.Status.AvailableReplicas {
+		level.Info(c.logger).Log(
+			"msg", "StatefulSet pods are all updated and ready but StatefulSet has some not-Available replicas",
+			"statefulset", sts.Name)
+		return true, nil
 	}
 
 	// At this point there are no pods to update, so we can update the currentRevision in the StatefulSet.
diff --git a/pkg/controller/controller_test.go b/pkg/controller/controller_test.go
index 50bf351de..199416875 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/controller_test.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/controller_test.go
@@ -165,6 +165,7 @@ func TestRolloutController_Reconcile(t *testing.T) {
 				mockStatefulSet("ingester-zone-b", withPrevRevision(), func(sts *v1.StatefulSet) {
 					sts.Status.Replicas = 3
 					sts.Status.ReadyReplicas = 2
+					sts.Status.AvailableReplicas = 2
 				}),
 			},
 			pods: []runtime.Object{
@@ -183,6 +184,7 @@ func TestRolloutController_Reconcile(t *testing.T) {
 				mockStatefulSet("ingester-zone-b", withPrevRevision(), func(sts *v1.StatefulSet) {
 					sts.Status.Replicas = 3
 					sts.Status.ReadyReplicas = 1
+					sts.Status.AvailableReplicas = 1
 				}),
 			},
 			pods: []runtime.Object{
@@ -540,7 +542,7 @@ func TestRolloutController_Reconcile(t *testing.T) {
 
 			// Create the controller and start informers.
 			reg := prometheus.NewPedanticRegistry()
-			c := NewRolloutController(kubeClient, restMapper, scaleClient, dynamicClient, testNamespace, nil, 5*time.Second, 0, reg, log.NewNopLogger())
+			c := NewRolloutController(kubeClient, restMapper, scaleClient, dynamicClient, testNamespace, nil, 0, reg, log.NewNopLogger())
 			require.NoError(t, c.Init())
 			defer c.Stop()
 
@@ -825,7 +827,7 @@ func TestRolloutController_ReconcileStatefulsetWithDownscaleDelay(t *testing.T)
 
 			// Create the controller and start informers.
 			reg := prometheus.NewPedanticRegistry()
-			c := NewRolloutController(kubeClient, restMapper, scaleClient, dynamicClient, testNamespace, httpClient, 5*time.Second, 0, reg, log.NewNopLogger())
+			c := NewRolloutController(kubeClient, restMapper, scaleClient, dynamicClient, testNamespace, httpClient, 0, reg, log.NewNopLogger())
 			require.NoError(t, c.Init())
 			defer c.Stop()
 
@@ -928,7 +930,7 @@ func TestRolloutController_ReconcileShouldDeleteMetricsForDecommissionedRolloutG
 
 	// Create the controller and start informers.
 	reg := prometheus.NewPedanticRegistry()
-	c := NewRolloutController(kubeClient, nil, nil, nil, testNamespace, nil, 5*time.Second, 0, reg, log.NewNopLogger())
+	c := NewRolloutController(kubeClient, nil, nil, nil, testNamespace, nil, 0, reg, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, c.Init())
 	defer c.Stop()
 
@@ -1010,10 +1012,11 @@ func mockStatefulSet(name string, overrides ...func(sts *v1.StatefulSet)) *v1.St
 			},
 		},
 		Status: v1.StatefulSetStatus{
-			Replicas:        3,
-			ReadyReplicas:   3,
-			CurrentRevision: testLastRevisionHash,
-			UpdateRevision:  testLastRevisionHash,
+			Replicas:          3,
+			ReadyReplicas:     3,
+			AvailableReplicas: 3,
+			CurrentRevision:   testLastRevisionHash,
+			UpdateRevision:    testLastRevisionHash,
 		},
 	}
 
@@ -1067,6 +1070,7 @@ func withReplicas(totalReplicas, readyReplicas int32) func(sts *v1.StatefulSet)
 		sts.Spec.Replicas = &totalReplicas
 		sts.Status.Replicas = totalReplicas
 		sts.Status.ReadyReplicas = readyReplicas
+		sts.Status.AvailableReplicas = readyReplicas
 	}
 }