Aljamain Sterling believes UFC wants him to fall down the featherweight ladder.
Sterling has long had issues with the UFC brass. When he was the reigning bantamweight champion, White told reporters that “Funk Master” can’t get out of his own way. Sterling addressed the matter with UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell during fight negotiations, but it doesn’t appear the tension has gone away.
During an interview with MMAFighting.com, Sterling was adamant about deserving a 145-pound title shot or being given a No. 1 contender bout. Sterling believes he’s often matched up with opponents who UFC matchmakers think have a good chance of defeating him.
“I don’t know what else I’ve got to do,” Sterling said. “If you want to give me Yair Rodriguez, I’ll fight him. If you want to give me Jean Silva, I’ll fight him. If you want to give me Youssef Zalal, I’ll fight him. I’ve never turned down anybody. These guys have asked me for opponents that I want to fight, and then they give me somebody the complete opposite because they want to see me lose.
“That’s my perspective. It might be different for them, but my perspective is, you ask me who I want to fight, I give you a name, stylistic good matchup for myself, you give me somebody else, what does that tell me? Oh, maybe I’m not the guy for the spot, but I keep proving them wrong. Give me a f*cking title shot and I’m gonna prove them wrong again.”
Sterling hasn’t been seen inside the Octagon since Aug. 2025. He defeated Brian Ortega via unanimous decision. The victory put “Funk Master” at 2-2 in his last four outings.
Do you agree with Aljamain Sterling or do you think he isn’t doing himself any favors? Let your voice be heard in the comments below.