Aljamain Sterling explains what made UFC Shanghai win over Brian Ortega satisfying

Aljamain Sterling walked out of UFC Shanghai with a win over Brian Ortega, and he says one aspect of the fight makes the victory that much sweeter.

Sterling entered his five-round matchup against Ortega on Saturday looking to remain relevant in the featherweight division. He hadn’t competed since a unanimous decision loss to Movsar Evloev in late 2024. “Funkmaster” was able to rebound by defeating “T-City.” It was a clean sweep for Sterling, who earned score totals of 50-45 across the board.

The former UFC Bantamweight Champion was interviewed on the ESPN+ post-fight show. During his chat, Sterling revealed one aspect of the fight that left him feeling quite pleased (via MMAJunkie).

“I was happy I got to show off my striking,” Sterling said. “Guys think I can’t box, they think I can’t kick, they think my striking is complete sh*t. Dude, I fight unorthodox because I like to take as little damage as possible. These guys come into the fights, they want to actually get into a back-and-forth. I’m here to win, I’m here to dominate, I’m here to make it look easy, and if that makes you think I can’t strike, then step in there with me and see what happens.”

Sterling even got the sense that Ortega was uncomfortable in the grappling department, and he took advantage by revving up his offense on the ground.

“Even in the grappling exchanges, he didn’t want to grapple,” Sterling said. “He wanted to punch me in the face. He landed some big shots from his back. I was like, ‘Holy sh*t, this guy’s got some pop.’ I wasn’t about to just let him punch me in the face the whole time, so I started just opening up on the ground.”

“Funkmaster” now looks ahead to what’s next. He’ll likely take Ortega’s No. 5 spot on the official UFC featherweight rankings. Whether or not it will lead to a No.1 contender bout remains to be seen.