Tag: Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling irked by UFC booking Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov on short notice

This situation feels all too familiar to Aljamain Sterling.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] believes UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] is being rushed to defend his title.

Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the UFC 311 co-main event (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) Jan. 18 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

After claiming the bantamweight title this past September at UFC 306, Dvalishvili was looking to take some time off. However, he wound up booked against Nurmagomedov earlier than he wanted, and Sterling is bothered that Dvalishvili wasn’t given more time to prepare for his first title defense.

“This fight is being made on six weeks’ notice? Maybe six-and-a-half,” Sterling said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “For a title fight? I understand having to do that if you’re a challenger, but as a champion, you shouldn’t be relegated to those type of stipulations. It’s just not right.

“Then it leaves a bad taste in your mouth as in, ‘Why did I work so hard to get to this position to call the shots or some of the shots?’ And you’re not even getting a fair shake in it. Hopefully we go out there – knock on wood – Merab does his thing, he takes (Nurmagomedov’s) 0, puts on a great performance, and we can move on from this and on to the next.”

Sterling can relate to Dvalishvili’s current situation. After Sterling retained his bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 in May 2023, he was asked to defend his belt against Sean O’Malley just more than three months later at UFC 292. He lost the fight by knockout.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.

Aljamain Sterling eyes Arnold Allen or Brian Ortega after UFC 310 loss

Aljamain Sterling wants to jump right back on the horse after UFC 310.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] wants to jump right back on the horse after UFC 310.

Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC) dropped a close decision to undefeated featherweight contender Movsar Evloev less than two weeks ago at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The frustrating loss had Sterling contemplating his fighting future, but it appears “The Funkmaster” has changed his tune pretty quickly.

It was a good showing from the former UFC bantamweight champion, who doesn’t see the Evloev loss as a step back. He’d like to make a quick turnaround against either [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) or former title challenger [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC).

“I would like to make a March return,” Sterling said in an interview with “Home of Fight.” “If I do get to get a fight for March, April the latest, I would like to fight Arnold Allen or fight Brian Ortega. I don’t think that loss to Movsar should push me down the rankings. I almost felt like it should be treated as a ‘W.’

“It’s weird to say it like that because it might come off as funny to people to hear me say that, but honestly, that’s just how I feel. I feel that I shouldn’t have to go fight down the rankings after being 1-1 and losing to a guy that people are saying is going to be the next champion, in a fight that a lot of people still think I won.”

Sterling, who’s been riddled with injuries throughout his past few training camps, wants to capitalize on being healthy.

“I think a March return would be nice,” Sterling said. “I want to stay busy, especially while I can. This is like the first time I’ve actually been the majority of the post fight healthy, so I want to take advantage of that.”

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Aljamain Sterling ponders future after UFC 310 loss: ‘Do I continue?’

Aljamain Sterling’s loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 310 has him pondering what’s next.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]’s loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 310 has him pondering what’s next.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC) dropped a unanimous decision to Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was a close, back-and-forth affair on the ground where Sterling showed he could hang with the elite at 145 pounds. However, the disappointing outcome left Sterling in a quandary when it comes to his title hopes.

“When we were in the back room, Ray (Longo) had just stepped out, and I told the guys, I was like, ‘I’m going to let you guys know I don’t really know what I’m going to do from here. I need to let it settle a little bit, but at ’35, I don’t know if I really want to climb the ladder all over again,'” Sterling said on his YouTube channel.

“I don’t want to say from scratch, but the end goal is so much further. I’m at a point where it’s like, is that worth the time invested for the surgeries, the pain, the training, the sacrifice? Do I still have that fight to commit to do that all the way up until the belt again, knowing that there’s still a good chance, like there’s still some other dogs that I could potentially fight and not have the fight go my way?”

After setting the record for most bantamweight title defenses at three, Sterling lost his belt to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 in August 2023. He then moved up to featherweight and dominated top contender Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 before losing a close decision to Evloev.

Although Sterling thinks his stock likely went up after losing to Evloev, he’ll wait and see what his path to title contention looks like before making a decision on his fighting future.

“Do I continue, or do I just help out the guys and help them get ready for their fights and what not and maybe just take fun fights? I don’t know,” Sterling said. “I don’t want to retire, but I’ve got to see what the UFC offers and then kind of make a decision to go from there to see where my positioning is. … It’s tough to even talk like this because I’m only 35. I know people think I still look good and everything, but my body hurts.

“I can’t train the way I used to. I used to do two, three training sessions a day. I can’t do that anymore. Even the grappling sessions that I would do to make 135 pounds, I feel like I can’t do that anymore. I can’t train the way I used to and I don’t know if that gave me an edge or just broke my body down more, but that’s just where I’m at. I’ve just got to see where the chips fall and go from there.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Aljamain Sterling: No excuses for ‘heartbreaking’ loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 310

Aljamain Sterling was all class after a competitive loss to the unbeaten Movsar Evloev at UFC 310.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] was pure class in the aftermath of his loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 310.

Former UFC bantamweight champ Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC) suffered his first defeat since moving up to featherweight on Saturday when he dropped a unanimous decision to Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was a competitive affair, with some in the MMA community even scoring it for Sterling.

Although it wasn’t the outcome he wanted, Sterling thought he performed at a high level against an undefeated opponent.

“Tough one,” Sterling said in a video on social media. “Heartbreaking, for sure. But wanted to let everyone know that I’m all right. I hope that performance did not disappoint you guys. Movsar’s a beast. Hat’s off. No excuses. Exactly what I wanted. I wanted to give the best of me, have the best of him and see where we’re at. See if I can make this quest to fight for gold again at a new weight class.”

Sterling, 35, was successful in his divisional debut at UFC 300 in April when he defeated Calvin Kattar. He indicated he will try to continue to push toward a 145-pound title fight, but it remains to be seen who he will be matched up with next.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

UFC 310 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2024 total passes $8 million

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program has now paid out more than $8 million to athletes in 2024 under the Venum deal.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 310 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $368,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 310 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The full UFC 310 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Dooho Choi[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Lukasz Brzeski[/autotag]: $6,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $8,072,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $30,809,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

UFC 310 results: Movsar Evloev outscrambles Aljamain Sterling to remain undefeated

Movsar Evloev prevailed in a battle of high-level grapplers against former bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling on the UFC 310 prelims.

[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] is still undefeated after a high-paced grappling battle against former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling on the prelims of UFC 310.

The UFC-ranked top 10 matchup was one of the event’s most anticipated bouts, and it delivered with an exhausting pace of wrestling scrambles. After 15 minutes at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) maintained his unblemished record by winning a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC).

Sterling looked to set the tone early with quick, darting strikes. In this matchup between fantastic grapplers, Sterling was also the first to shoot in to bring the fight to the mat, eventually finding his way to Evloev’s back near the fence. After getting lifted and returned to the mat, Evloev escaped to take top position for a few moments of offense.

A well-timed level change in the opening exchange scored a nice takedown for Sterling early in Round 2, but Evloev was able to scramble and reverse the position. Just when Evloev appeared settled in, Sterling exploded back to his feet. After exchanging punches, Evloev got the fight to the ground where more wild scrambles unfolded until the horn.

With the fight seemingly tied going into the final round, Sterling came out quickly again, bringing the fight to the canvas. Sterling landed another big slam, but with just under two minutes to go, Evloev reversed the position and maintained control while adding punches until the fight concluded.

During his post-fight interview, Evloev, 30, said he hoped the win would be enough to earn a title shot. He entered with wins over top names such as Dan Ige, Diego Lopes and Arnold Allen. Sterling, 35, suffers his first defeat at 145 pounds.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 310 results include:

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Chael Sonnen: Aljamain Sterling being ‘overlooked’ by UFC

Chael Sonnen feels Aljamain Sterling is being “overlooked” by the UFC.

Like many, [autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag] is not too thrilled to see former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] on the preliminary card of UFC 310.

There’s no denying that Sterling (24-4 MMA, 16-4 UFC) vs. Movsar Evloev is a key featherweight matchup, as it pits No. 5 vs. No. 9, according to the UFC official rankings. Yet, despite its high profile, two other featherweight bouts – Nate Landwehr vs. Doo-ho Choi and Bryce Mitchell vs. Kron Gracie – enjoy a main card placement over Sterling vs. Evloev (18-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC).

Sonnen doesn’t understand the logic behind the UFC’s decision in the bout order of Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Las Vegas, which makes him think that the promotion is overlooking Sterling.

“I think that Aljo still can be champion,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I feel like he’s being overlooked. Historically, if you’re champion, and you go to a new division, you have to win one fight, but if you win it, you fight for the title. Alex Pereira, it just happened to him at 185. Kamaru Usman was in the spot when he went up. They told him to win this fight and he’ll fight for a title. It’s generally just one and Aljo already won two, and he’s got the deck stacked against him.

“I think he’s going to great in this fight, but I think maybe they’re missing that. I don’t feel like a world champion that’s got the potential to come back –I think Aljo maybe was overlooked.”

Sterling, 35, is 10-1 in his past 11 UFC bouts. That run included his campaign for the UFC bantamweight belt, his three title defenses, and a KO loss to Sean O’Malley – which saw him lose his belt. It also includes his UFC featherweight debut, which he won by outpointing veteran Calvin Kattar in April.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

UFC 310 preview: What’s at stake in key matchups at 2024’s final pay-per-view?

UFC will close out its 2024 PPV schedule in style with a UFC 310, and there’s a number of compelling storylines across the lineup.

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]The UFC’s 2024 pay-per-view schedule comes to a conclusion on Saturday with UFC 310, which goes down at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+).

Although it doesn’t feature the biggest stars on the roster, there are a number of compelling bouts on tap – from the flyweight title headliner of [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag] to the welterweight title eliminator co-main event of [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] to the key heavyweight matchup of [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]. And there are other notable pairings, including [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag], [autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag] and more.

There’s much on the line across the 14-bout card, and the “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Matthew Wells and Mike Bohn joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia on this week’s episode of the roundtable show to break down the most important storylines.

Check out the video above for the complete UFC 310 preview, or watch below for the entire episode of “Spinning Back Clique.”

https://www.youtube.com/live/QS2G4RQdRo0

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Aljamain Sterling sees title implications on the line for UFC 310 fight vs. Movsar Evloev

Despite being on the prelims, Aljamain Sterling believes his fight with Movsar Evloev at UFC 310 has a lot on the line.

LAS VEGAS – Despite landing on the prelims, [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] feels he has a very consequential fight at UFC 310.

The former UFC bantamweight champion takes on undefeated featherweight contender [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] in what many have labeled an under-the-radar fight in the final UFC pay-per-view of the year (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, Hulu, ESPN+) – which takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

Sterling (24-4 MMA, 16-4 UFC) is aware there are other names angling to get a shot at the belt, but believes his name will be in that discussion if he beats Evloev (18-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC).

“The path (to the title) is dominate Movsar,” Sterling said at Wednesday’s UFC 310 media day. “I dominate Movsar, and I think I take care of a lot of issues outside of things I can’t really control. I can only control my performance. The UFC is going to say who they want to fight for the belt next, and hopefully, it gives me a shot if I go out there and do a great job and win.”

Sterling is looking to put two consecutive wins together now at 145 pounds. After losing his bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley in August 2023, Sterling moved up a division, and defeated long-time veteran Calvin Kattar.

“Funk Master” likes the matchup with Evloev, and believes the fans are in for an exciting contest.

“It’s going to be a grappler’s delight, but maybe it ends up in a striking affair – which would be fun for everybody,” Sterling said. “I think it’s a win-win for both of our careers because of people calling either of us boring and title implications on the line.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Merab Dvalishvili says Aljamain Sterling ‘smashed’ him in grappling training ahead of UFC 310

Merab Dvalishvili is confident in Aljamain Sterling’s grappling heading into UFC 310.

[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] is confident in [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]’s grappling heading into UFC 310.

Elite grapplers Sterling (24-4 MMA, 16-4 UFC) and Movsar Evloev (18-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) square off in Saturday’s prelims (pay-per-view, ESPN 2, ESPN+) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

UFC bantamweight champion Dvalishvili has been helping his good friend and training partner prep for Evloev, and he likes what he sees out of “The Funkmaster.”

Dvalishvili himself is known for his grappling and relentless pace, which saw him attempt a UFC-record 49 takedowns against Petr Yan, and five takedowns landed on Olympic gold medalist wrestler Henry Cejudo at UFC 298.

“Aljo feels really strong,” Dvalishvili said on Sterling’s YouTube channel. “Now he did a bunch of rounds of jiu-jitsu too. He did two rounds with me. I couldn’t do anything. He was on top of me, controlled me, smashed me. That means that Aljo is going to smash his opponent – even though his opponent is really good.

“I have so much respect for Movsar Evloev, but that’s how the fight game is. The stronger guy wins. I’m very comfortable with Aljo because he’s focused and he feels really strong.”

According to DraftKings, former UFC bantamweight champion Sterling is a +210 underdog against undefeated Evloev, who’s a -258 favorite.

“This is a big test, I’m not leaving any stones unturned,” Sterling said. “Go out there and get it as best as I can, and we’re going to shock the world baby. That 0 has got to go.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.