Aljamain Sterling News

Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan
Exclusive MMA Interviews

EXCLUSIVE | Aljamain Sterling ready for bantamweight title shot: 'How can I not be the next guy in line?'

Mike Pendleton - March 27, 2019

With a vacant bantamweight title up for grab, Aljamain Sterling is calling for his chance. The “FunkMaster” is currently on a three-fight winning streak which has seen him beat the likes of Brett Johns, Cody Stamann, and Jimmie Rivera. Now that he finds himself at the top of the division, Sterling wants his chance at the UFC title. While the UFC seems pretty set on making Marlon Moraes vs Henry Cejudo as the next bantamweight title fight, Sterling continues to push and call out for a title fight.

Aljamain Sterling, Cory Sandhagen, UFC 250, UFC rankings
Exclusive MMA Interviews

EXCLUSIVE |Aljamain Sterling on Pedro Munhoz: 'Eventually, he's going to have to face me'

Mike Pendleton - March 27, 2019

If the UFC is preparing to make a bantamweight title fight between Marlon Moraes and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo as Dana White said they were, Aljamain Sterling will be looking for an opponent, and Pedro Munhoz might be the one. Munhoz most recently defeated former champion Cody Garbrandt at UFC 235 and finds himself on a three-fight winning streak, the same as Aljamain Sterling. With a potential title fight between Cejudo and Moraes possibly in the works, a matchup between Sterling and Munhoz makes sense for both sides.

Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan
Exclusive MMA Interviews

EXCLUSIVE | Aljamain Sterling on TJ Dillashaw: 'I like to say where there's smoke, there's fire'

Mike Pendleton - March 26, 2019

The recent news of TJ Dillashaw relinquishing his title due to an adverse finding in his drug test after his fight against flyweight champion Henry Cejudo sent a shockwave through the MMA world. Dillashaw faced Cejudo in attempt to become a two-weight world champion in a time where the future of the flyweight division was up in the air. Henry Cejudo put a halt to the plans of Dillashaw and the UFC potentially shutting down the flyweight division when he defeated Dillashaw in a quick first-round TKO. Now that Dillashaw has relinquished his title and left the bantamweight division and title up for grabs, many fighters of the bantamweight division are speaking up for their chance to get the vacant belt.

Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan
UFC

Aljamain Sterling blasts UFC for uncertainty at 125, 135

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2019

Things are very uncertain in the UFC flyweight and bantamweight divisions at present. At flyweight, reigning champ Henry Cejudo is floating the idea of moving up to bantamweight, while there’s also been rampant talk of shutting down his division altogether.

Henry-Cejudo-TJ-Dillashaw-Marlon-Moraes-Aljamain-Sterling
Henry Cejudo

Aljamain Sterling says TJ Dillashaw vs Henry Cejudo 2 is on, wants rematch with Marlon Moraes

Drake Riggs - March 8, 2019

The 135-pound bantamweight division is about as deep as it gets across the board in MMA. In the UFC specifically, new and exciting talents are seemingly emerging with every event. However, the weight class is, unfortunately, starting to find itself a bit clogged at the top. At UFC Brooklyn in January, the division’s champion, TJ Dillashaw, went down in weight to try and capture the flyweight title against the recently crowned Henry Cejudo. The defending champion would end up doing just that as he only needed 32 seconds to dispatch of the higher weight class’ titleholder.

Cody Stamann, Aljamain Sterling
Cody Stamann

EXCLUSIVE | Cody Stamann hoping to fight Aljamain Sterling again after UFC 235 fight

Cole Shelton - February 27, 2019

Cody Stamann was preparing to fight in March before the UFC even called him. Then, about a month he was offered the chance to fight at UFC 235, where he is set to take on Alejandro Perez. Stamann, who is coming off of a submission loss to Aljamain Sterling in September is confident he was what it takes to beat Perez. Frankly, Stamann doesn’t even think Perez is that good.

Francis Ngannou, Dana White
Francis Ngannou

The biggest winners from UFC on ESPN 1

Mike Straus - February 18, 2019

On Sunday night, the Octagon finally took center stage on the largest sports platform in the world, as the UFC debuted on ESPN. Whether it was the return of Cain Velasquez or the first Gracie to earn a victory inside the Octagon in 25 years, UFC on ESPN 1 in Phoenix, Arizona definitely had its moments.

Jimmie-Rivera-Aljamain-Sterling
Jimmie Rivera

Report | Jimmie Rivera vs Aljamain Sterling added to UFC Phoenix

Drake Riggs - December 11, 2018

With the current champion at 135-pounds TJ Dillashaw dropping down to flyweight in the hopes of claiming a second title, his division must stay active until he returns. And that’s just what they’ll be doing as AZCentral’s Greg Moore has reported that a top 10 bantamweight collision between Jimmie ‘El Terror’ Rivera and Aljamain ‘Funkmaster’ Sterling is on for UFC Phoenix on February 17. This card is the first UFC card to be televised on the ESPN channel.

Aljamain Sterling, Dominick Cruz
Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling explains why he called out Dominick Cruz after UFC Atlantic City win

Tom Taylor - April 23, 2018

Last weekend, on the main card of the UFC’s exciting stop in Atlantic City, long-time bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling returned to the Octagon for the first time since his tough, knockout loss to Marlon Moraes. His opponent in this comeback fight was Brett Johns, who he dominated to a lopsided unanimous decision victory. Shortly after this return to the win column, an opportunistic Sterling called for a fight with former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.

Aljamain Sterling Marlon Moraes Staredown
Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling Thinks UFC Could Have Handled Updating His KO Status Better

Drake Riggs - December 18, 2017

UFC Fight Night 123 in Fresno, California ended up being a short night for the “Funkmaster” Aljamain Sterling. Unfortunately, he wasn’t on the positive end of the results. The 14-3 top 10 Bantamweight suffered his first career loss via knockout to Marlon Moraes on December 9 and the knockout was rather nasty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtqdGGz74Ow

Aljamain Sterling
Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling issues statement after brutal KO loss to Marlon Moraes

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2017

Last night, on the main card of the UFC’s anticipated debut in the fight town of Fresno, California, former World Series of Fighting bantamweight king Marlon Moraes stepped into the cage to battle long-time contender Aljamain Sterling. Since joining the UFC roster, Moraes has looked good, but not great, losing a debatable decision to Raphael Assuncao before winning a similarly contentious decision over John Dodson. When he stepped into the cage with Sterling, he nixed any chance of another close decision, as he authored an absolutely hellacious knockout, putting his foe down with a first-round knee.

Marlon Moraes

UFC Fresno Results: Marlon Moraes KO’s Aljamain Sterling

Chris Taylor - December 9, 2017

A key bantamweight scrap between Marlon Moraes and Aljamain Sterling took place at tonight’s UFC Fight Night event in Fresno, California. Round one begins and Moraes lands a devastating knee that sends Sterling crashing to the canvas! This one is all over just seconds in. Wow Marlon Moraes!

Aljamain Sterling Jimmie Rivera
Jimmie Rivera

Aljamain Sterling Gets Into It With Jimmie Rivera's Wife on Twitter

Justin Golightly - September 29, 2017

This fight game gets heated, ladies and gentlemen. Especially now with a cornucopia of social media overflowing at our fingertips. It’s easy to get heavily invested in an upcoming fight and get carried away talking to someone about it online. It happens to the best of us. It must be even harder to try and escape the urge to say something when you’re the significant other of one of those fighters. That happened yesterday after the announcement of Jimmie Rivera’s fight with Dominick Cruz. Aljamain Sterling responded to a random dude trash talking to him on the internet. At that point, Rivera’s wife chimed in and then it all snowballed.

Cody Garbrandt, Aljamain Sterling
Cody Garbrandt

Cody Garbrandt attempts clear the air after being accused of racism by Aljamain Sterling

Tom Taylor - August 22, 2017

Earlier this month, UFC bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt and bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling got into it on Twitter. This beef started innocently enough, but blew up when Garbrandt called Sterling “boy,” a comment that was immediately criticized for it’s racial undertone. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Garbrandt explained where his beef with Sterling began,

Cody Garbrandt, Aljamain Sterling
Cody Garbrandt

Cody Garbrandt and Aljamain Sterling get heated on Twitter, racism accusations surface

Tom Taylor - August 14, 2017

On Sunday, reigning UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt and rising bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling got into it on Twitter. While this back-and-forth began as fairly innocent Twitter beef, it unfortunately wasn’t long before accusations of racism began to fly. See the pair’s fiery exchange below:

Aljamain Sterling
Renan Barao

UFC 214 Results: Aljamain Sterling defeats Renan Barao

Chris Taylor - July 29, 2017

A 140-pound catchweight bout between former bantamweight champion Renan Barao and Aljamain Sterling took place during tonight’s UFC 214 prelims from Anaheim, California. Round one begins and Barao opens up with a body kick. Sterling responds with one of his own. Barao leaps in with a left hand and then a leg kick. Sterling presses forward and just misses getting caught with a spinning head kick from Renabn. Barao with a leg kick. Sterling returns fires with one to the body. Barao trips Sterling and winds up on top. Sterling immediately rolls for a leg lock. He sinks it in but Barao catches him with a good shot. Another good punch from Barao and he takes top position. The Brazilian quickly passes to half guard but Aljamain scrambles back to full guard. Barao with a left hand. He moves to half guard and lands an elbow. Renan with a some knees to the body. Sterling scrambes back with full guard. He attempts a sweep but Barao says no. Sterling looks to lock up a triangle but Barao postures up and rains down left. The horn sounds to end round one.

Renan Barao
Renan Barao

Renan Barao set to return to bantamweight at UFC 214

Tom Taylor - May 25, 2017

Earlier this year, we learned that, despite a decent 1-1 record at featherweight, Renan Barao would be abandoning the division in favor of a return to his former bantamweight haunts. Now, the details of Barao’s bantamweight return have been revealed. The former bantamweight king will be taking on long-time prospect Aljamain Sterling at UFC 214, this July 29 in Anaheim, California. This fight was announced by the UFC on Wednesday evening.

Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling goes off on the bantamweight roster, John Dodson fires back

Chris Taylor - May 6, 2017

Aljamain Sterling goes off on the bantamweight roster, John Dodson fires back Perennial UFC bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling (13-2 MMA) is looking to book his next opponent.