Former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling doesn’t know for sure why his matchup with undefeated featherweight contender Movsar Evloev is buried on the undercard of UFC 310 tomorrow night (Sat., Dec. 7, 2024) LIVE on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, but “Funk Master” has a wild guess as to why he’s being capped to end the year.
Sterling, who lost his UFC bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley back at UFC 292, made a move up to featherweight earlier this year at UFC 300. The grappling expert ended up dominating 145-pound veteran Calvin Kattar to win a unanimous decision and get back into the UFC win column. It wasn’t the most boring performance of all time, but most considered it a massive let down when stacked up against the rest of the action on UFC 300’s historic card.
Sterling obviously wants to keep climbing the ladder in the featherweight division and is staring down a matchup with the undefeated Evloev. It’s a tremendous fight, but one that has been placed on the undercard portion of UFC 310. Evloev has yet to earn a finish inside of the Octagon despite a 8-0 UFC record — including a lackluster win over Arnold Allen back in January — but Sterling is a pretty popular fighter. Most were expecting their featherweight clash to be featured on the PPV main card (especially over one specific dumpster fire).
Earlier this week, Sterling discussed the placement of his fight on UFC 310’s undercard and believes it’s a product of Dana White’s hatred for the “boring” Evloev.
“I can appreciate a technical fight,” Sterling said during UFC 310’s media day. “I wouldn’t really consider him boring. I think Dana saying that fight with Arnold Allen was boring was kind of a stretch. I think most people would agree with that.
“I think it’s probably more his dislike for Movsar. I think he might dislike him more than me. That’s a good thing!”
Whether or not White likes the undefeated Evloev, the fact remains he has yet to finish a fight as a member of the UFC roster. That raises some red flags even for a safe fighter like Sterling.
“Eight fights, no finishes, all decisions,” Sterling said. “I at least got a couple of finishes in there, especially at the beginning of my career when the competition isn’t as tough. That’s what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed separate yourself from the competition and I’ve been able to do that.
“Fighting the best guys, it’s not easy to finish the best guys in the world but I look to do that Saturday night against Movsar.”
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