Aljamain Sterling being out of action for the major part of the year has the fighting community worried. Things haven’t been all smooth between the former bantamweight champion and Dana White. According to the UFC head honcho, “He’s a great kid, very likable and everything else. Decisions he makes in public and things that he says in public do not make him the most popular guy on the roster.” Add to this Sterling’s grappling heavy fight style, which White is generally not a fan of. Even Henry Cejudo, weighing in on UFC 310, pointed out, “His style, you could call it boring.” But is that why Sterling’s next bout remains in uncertainty? Well, ‘Funkmaster’ says it is all in the UFC head honcho’s control.
Taking to X, Sterling weighed in on the robbery in the first bout of UFC 313. He was upset with the outcome of the fight between Djorden Santos and Ozzy Diaz. He claimed that Santos was actually from his gym and he stood up for his teammate. But that’s when a fan asked, “Tell me this , why are you and every other ranked UFC fighter cry and complain about the pay, when you guys BARLY fight once a year . U ever think , ummmm my atheltic gifts for professional sports only last so long, maybe I should fight ATLEAST 3 times a year , and triple my…”
Needless to say, Sterling has been missing out on huge opportunities to earn a lot of money due to his inactivity. His last bout against Calvin Kattar got him a reported $516K. And despite losing the bout against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, ‘Funkmaster’ received a base salary of $500K. But the blame? It was all on the UFC CEO. No doubt, the fighters crave to fight more than once a year. But it often comes to the matchmaking team to decide who fights and who does not. Sterling replied, “Ask the boss brother. You think we want to fight once a year? Lol cmon my guy.”
Ask the boss brother. You think we want to fight once a year? Lol cmon my guy https://t.co/nqeUPjqls6
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 9, 2025
Dana White has stayed adamant in his stance regarding the former UFC bantamweight champion. He truly believed that Aljamain Sterling’s fights were utterly boring. Maybe that’s why he placed Sterling’s fight against Movsar Evloev at UFC 310 in the preliminary card instead of the main card. But do you know what Sterling had to say about it?
Aljamain Sterling weighs in on Dana White’s decision for him at UFC 310
Speaking at the press conference for the event, Sterling pointed out that it was all because White might not really like Evloev. He said, “I wouldn’t really consider him boring. I think Dana saying that fight with Arnold Allen was boring was kind of a stretch. I think most people would agree with that; I think it was probably more of his dislike for Movsar.”
Sterling continued, “I think he might dislike him more than me. That’s a good thing. 8 fights, no finishes, all decisions… I at least got a couple of finishes in there, especially in the beginning of my career. When the competition isn’t as tough, that’s what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to separate yourself from the competition.”
Well, according to ‘Funkmaster’, one had to focus on winning while facing strong opponents like Evloev. It simply isn’t an easy feat to land a finishing blow on such fighters. Instead, one had to play the longer game and try to score more points in the bout. However, the UFC head honcho wanted the shows to be phenomenal. Being a businessman, he knew what attracted the fighting community, and decision endings were not it. Nevertheless, the former bantamweight champion wasn’t ready to give up just yet. And all we can do now, is wait for the UFC to give Sterling another chance to prove himself in the Octagon.
What are your thoughts on Sterling’s words for White? Do you think ‘Funkmaster’ deserves more fights than he gets? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post Missing Out on More Than $500,000, Aljamain Sterling Blames Dana White as Pressure Mounts on Next UFC Fight appeared first on EssentiallySports.
