UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling wants certain needs met before he signs on the dotted line for a fight with TJ Dillashaw.
A clash between Sterling and the former champion Dillashaw was thought to be booked for UFC 279 on Sept. 10. But contrary to preliminary reports, Sterling hasn’t signed his bout agreement yet as he looks for a more lucrative contract with the UFC.
During a recent video post on his YouTube channel, Sterling revealed that a fight with Dillashaw hasn’t been finalized.
“The one thing I want to disclose is there is no fight until there’s ink on paper,” Sterling said. “And as of right now my contract is exactly the same and usually when it’s not a title fight and when you win a fight, there’s an escalator. There’s been no escalator for this fight. I’d like to think that I did my part, did the right things, and even allowed myself to be the bad guy in the last outing with Petr Yan. I helped play up the storyline.
“So, one would think that being a company man would actually help you in the long run. I did my job, as of right now… I’m training, hoping that we can come to some type of agreement to get some type of pay bump which naturally happens in all the contracts.
“For me, I want to make sure we get the deal right before we just jump into another fight. At the end of the day, I climbed through the ranks, worked my ass off, and I played my position in terms of helping to promote the fights. I want to be a company man but also at the same time look out for my best interests.”
Sterling is coming off of a UFC 273 win over Petr Yan via a split decision. He earned the belt after Yan was disqualified for throwing an illegal knee in their first fight at UFC 259.
Dillashaw earned the planned title shot after earning a win over Cory Sandhagen last summer after a two-year layoff. He won the title over Cody Garbrandt before being handed a USADA suspension for EPO use.
Sterling was an adversary to many UFC fans who felt he was an undeserving champion. He played the role of a heel ahead of his rematch with Yan and seemed to embrace the hate from a portion of the fanbase.
UFC President Dana White and the rest of the brass have yet to respond publically to Sterling’s comments.
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