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Aljamain Sterling’s frustration with the UFC was clear after his win at RAF06, where he voiced his issues with how the featherweight division is being managed.
The former bantamweight champion, who last fought in August, made his return to competition at RAF06 this past Saturday.
He put in a strong performance, earning a third-round tech fall win over Benson Henderson and adding another highlight to his career.
After the win, Sterling voiced his frustrations over the UFC’s approach to managing featherweights.
Aljamain Sterling calls out UFC over featherweight title shot
Since moving up to 145lbs, Sterling has fought three times, picking up wins against Brian Ortega and Calvin Kattar but suffering a loss to Movsar Evloev.
And since his victory over ‘T-City’, the 36-year-old has been pushing for multiple fights without any clear progress towards getting one booked.
Following his win on the wrestling mats, ‘Funkmaster’ took aim at the UFC, demanding a shot at the featherweight title.
“Nothing (in the works) as of yet, I saw that announcement, the battle of the Bellasores,” Sterling said to MMAFighting in regards to the fight between Aaron Pico and Patricio ‘Pitbull’.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, been with the company since 2014, I’ve been calling my shot, defended my belt the most in the bantamweight division, tied with a couple of other greats.
“Give me my f—— shot, I deserve a shot at the title, OG vs OG, I’m smarter than all of these dumb motherf—— out there… Diego Lopes gets a f—— rematch and he goes out there and fights worse.
“Yeah, I don’t have knockout power, that’s never been my game, I win with (my head), I’m smarter than a lot of these guys. I’m an OG of the game, give me my f—— title shot, I’ll put on a good show… I’ve earned this.”
Aljamain Sterling open to fights against Jean Silva, Yair Rodriguez, and Youssef Zalal
Sterling has been pushing to serve as the backup for the UFC London main event between Lerone Murphy and Evloev, but that role might not be his.
According to ‘Funkmaster,’ he is hearing that Jean Silva could step into that spot instead.
In response, Sterling said he would be willing to face Silva, Yair Rodriguez, or Youssef Zalal in order to secure a title shot.
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