Aljamain Sterling’s featherweight debut at UFC 300 was a success despite the lack of fireworks inside the cage. The former UFC bantamweight champion showed off his grappling skills as he shut out the dangerous Calvin Kattar in all three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory. However, despite Sterling’s “Piledriver” attempt, the match had few big moments and the audience was left shaken by the sight they witnessed inside the cage.
However, the most shocking part of this battle was what happened next. Lack of in-cage interviews with former champions! It was surprising that he was not available for a post-match interview with Joe Rogan when he was declared the winner. Seeing this predicament, X’s “Spinnin’ Backfist” account shared: Maybe because of the TV timing? If not… that’s rude. #UFC300. ”
The UFC fighter seemed equally stunned not to be able to meet Joe Rogan for a quick interview. Typically, after the winner is announced, Logan storms into the Octagon to ask questions. The same was true for Max Holloway, Alex Pereira and Zhang Weili, all of whom won their matches. Why was Sterling skipped? Neither the promotion nor Joe Rogan have commented on it. However, fans are speculating that this may be due to a lack of action during the match.
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Damn, they didn’t even give Arjo an interview with Joe Rogan.
Maybe because of the TV timing? If not… that’s rude. #UFC300
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) April 14, 2024
Therefore, time constraints forced the promotion to make such a decision. This has happened in the past as ESPN+ hosts the prelims and the main card is the PPV. However, after the match, Sterling was also booed by the crowd. Would the boos have been worse if his octagon interview had taken place? probably.
But remember how Joe Rogan once spoke out against interviewers being rude to boxers? Consider the interview between Larry Merchant and Floyd Mayweather. Regarding this, Logan once said: And also, I respect the fact that these people have been trained their entire lives. And, you know, it takes six to 12 weeks for that particular event, when I’m in the ring and in the cage, I’m trying to interview the fighters, what I’m trying to do is… To express oneself in the best way one can. Be as respectful as possible. I wouldn’t have talked to him (Floyd Mayweather) like that. ”
So it’s unlike Logan to intentionally not interview fighters. Returning to Sterling, his lack of urgency to finish the game was noticed by the crowd and broadcast team. Either way, he took the opportunity to share his thoughts with Megan Olibi in the post-match press conference. “To be honest, it felt like everything was moving in a little bit of slow motion. I felt like the training that we did was on point. We were able to see a lot of things in the training room. It felt like I was back.”
With this latest win, Sterling improves his record to 24-4. But did you know that most of his wins are by decision? Yes! He has three wins by KO/TKO, eight wins by submission, 12 wins by decision, and one win by disqualification of his opponent.
Aljamain Sterling is the only fighter on the entire UFC 300 card who did not have a post-fight interview after his win 💀pic.twitter.com/71M4Mg2Ymy
— 𝕽𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖒𝖆𝖐𝖊𝖗❂ (@Sa_Gwang) April 14, 2024
Additionally, this isn’t the first time “The Funk Master” has been branded a boring fighter. Remember the fight with Petr Yan at UFC 273? The fact that he spent so much time going for a choke on the ground or on Yan’s back was off-putting to many. Because of this, some fans started calling him “Human Backpack”. Similarly, remember the fight with Yan at UFC 259? When Yan used a foul knee against Sterling, Sterling was unable to continue the fight. At this point, many fans wondered if “The Funk Master” was faking an injury to get an easy win due to Yang’s disqualification.
Going back to the UFC 300 fight, let’s not forget that it was his featherweight debut. Sterling may have been playing it safe to see how well he could adapt to fighting in a heavier weight class. Although he was lackluster overall, Sterling will be in the featherweight ranks next week. So what does this win mean for the former bantamweight champion?
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Aljamain Sterling’s bittersweet UFC 300 win
Aljamain Sterling entered UFC 300 to make his presence felt in the featherweight division after losing his bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 last year. Many experts predicted that his weight gain would benefit a grapple-heavy stylist like “The Funk Master,” and his performance against Calvin Kattar was exactly that. was.
Sterling was probably the happiest athlete on stage when Dana White agreed to a $300,000 bonus for the event. One would imagine he would have fought tooth and nail to keep that check for himself. However, there was no such intent in the performance, which several fans pointed out on social media.
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As for his prospects at featherweight, he could fight anyone in the top 5-7 and earn a shot at the title if he wins. His next fight could be against potential names like Yair Rodriguez, Movsar Evloev, Arnold Allen, and Brian Ortega. Sterling was particularly interested in facing Ortega.
Who should Sterling fight next? What did you think of this performance from the former champion? Let us know in the comments section below.
