FLORAL PARK, N.Y. – [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] may or may not be in training camp for a UFC title fight. It’s all perspective. But the bottom line is he’s training, and training hard.
Working three to five rounds a day with fellow bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili in Las Vegas, Sterling (21-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) still made the trip across the country back home to Long Island this past weekend to enjoy UFC on ABC 3 at USB Arena.
MMA Junkie learned in mid-June bout contracts were issued with the promotion finalizing Sterling against [autotag]T.J. Dillashaw[/autotag]. As of the time his feet touched down on home soil late Thursday, Sterling indicated pen still has not hit paper. As he mentioned on his “The Weekly Scraps Podcast,” Sterling and his management are in negotiations with the promotion pertaining to escalator pay.
“I believe my management has been talking with the guys over there,” Sterling told MMA Junkie at J. Fallon’s Tap Room last week. “Just so people don’t get it twisted because I got a lot of mixed commentary on that. Never in my UFC career have I, or even in my fight career, have I been the same exact thing after winning. That’s what I was saying. I’m not asking for 2 million or 3 million. I’m not asking for anything like that. I’m not trying to change the game, so to speak. I mean, that’d be nice. Dana, that’d be nice. I could be the Nelk Boy.”
Escalator pay is a term used to describe mid-contract boosts often built into UFC contracts. Fighters onboarded at the typical, baseline $12,000 to show, $12,000 to win (or $10,000 to show and $10,000 if signed from Dana White’s Contender Series). While the first fight on the deal starts at those rates, fighters will be bumped in pay $2,000 for every fight thereafter – escalator pay. Escalator pay rates increase to $3,000, $5,000, etc., as experience builds.
According to Sterling, he would not receive that pay bump if he signed on for his fight vs. Dillashaw – a career first. Sterling wants to make it clear that he’s not a disgruntled fighter holding out for more money, nor is he asking for a massive boost. He just wants the boost he’s continued to build through his eight-year, 16-fight tenure in the UFC.
“From what I understand, in the contract, there wasn’t actually an escalator for winning,” Sterling said. “There was only an escalator for challenging and then winning. There was no particular part in the contract that said when you win it, you get escalator. I was just like, ‘Hey, that wasn’t in the contract,’ because if it was, I can’t complain. I would like to try to get a little pay bump. That’s it. I’m not asking for much. I just want a little pay bump so I can secure myself and my family. I’ve got a lot of people to take care of, especially for my future. I’m just trying to do the right thing.
“At the end of the day, man, we’re in the premiere league. The UFC is the best organization in my opinion. Dana White has done a great job. I appreciate him and everything he’s done. But at the end of the day, the same way he is about the business, I’m about the business, too. So hopefully we can make something happen and make some magic.”
Is he confident terms can be reached and the fight will happen? Sterling is holding his cards close to his chest. UFC 279 is set to take place Sept. 10, likely in Las Vegas. That’s less than two months away.
“I’m definitely in training camp,” Sterling said with a smile and chug of beer.