‘The Funkmaster’ Is One of the UFC’s Most Mistreated Fighters in 2026
Aljamain Sterling’s career is one of greatness. He ranks among the greatest of Bantamweight Champions, with wins over all-time greats like Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, and TJ Dillashaw. Following his departure from the Bantamweight Division, he’s had a successful career at featherweight, as well. Despite all of that, ‘The Funkmaster’ seems to be far removed from the good graces of UFC fans and executives. It began in 2021, when he challenged Yan for the bantamweight title. Although it was a competitive affair, the fight was turning worse and worse for Aljo, and his momentum was slipping away from him. As he failed a takedown, Yan leaned down and kneed him full force in the face, a completely intentional and illegal strike that rendered Sterling unable to continue. As a result, Sterling was awarded the championship.
Fans were livid, but not at Yan. They accused Sterling of faking the injury in order to receive the title, and UFC president Dana White was heard at the post-fight press conference giving dubious answers when asked if he thought Sterling’s injury was legitimate. There was, of course, no real reason to believe that Sterling had been faking. The impact to his head was clearly severe, clearly unexpected, and clearly illegal. A rematch with Yan was scheduled, and the sentiment was that Sterling would lose the belt that he didn’t deserve. He proved everyone wrong and won the fight in a hypercompetitive split decision. This should have vindicated him. Aljo proved that he was the better of the two fighters and that he deserved to hold the belt. Instead, fans cried robbery, and claims that Aljo was a paper champ were stronger than ever.
In his next two title defenses, ‘The Funkmaster’ seemed unable to escape the asterisk. He beat Henry Cejudo in ‘Triple C’s first fight in three years, again by split decision, and then TKO’d Dillashaw, who had a severe shoulder issue going into the fight and suffered a dislocation leading up to the finish. Aljo kept winning, but at the championship level, he never had a dominant or fair win, and fans never got behind him. In his fourth attempted defense, most of the fans were behind Sean O’Malley, who would later go on to fight ‘The Funkmaster’s teammate, Merab Dvalishvili. Aljo didn’t want to take the fight. He claimed that the UFC pressured him, and he needed more time to recover. In spite of that, he took the fight, and O’Malley knocked him out. Despite three title defenses, Aljo was never offered a rematch with O’Malley. He had to move up to featherweight, where he’s on another run despite his advanced age. It’s possible that fans will get behind him this time, but it’s not likely.
