With UFC on a $7.7 billion broadcast deal and boxers like Conor Benn getting $15 million paydays from Dana White's Zuffa, ex-champ Sterling is one of many big-name UFC fighters starting to realize that something is amiss.
Aljamain Sterling has never been shy about speaking his mind. And safe to say, the former UFC bantamweight champion is feeling frustrated by the start of this new calendar year.
On Wednesday’s edition of “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Sterling unloaded on what he sees as a broken system. From stalled fight bookings to pay disparities following the UFC’s $7.7 billion Paramount deal, and Zuffa Boxing's recent deal reportedly guaranteeing Conor Benn eight figures for a single match, "Funkmaster" believes there are far more questions than answers within the current UFC landscape.
Sterling, now 36 and competing at featherweight, made it clear his frustration starts with something simple: He just wants to fight.
"I'm not trying to get myself in trouble again, but I just want to fight and make money. I'm 36, I'm not getting any younger. I just want to freaking compete,” Sterling told Uncrowned. “If I'm going to get another chance and opportunity to fight for a world title, I've got to compete and I've got to win. I've got to keep winning and proving my case.
"I'm not a fan-favorite in the sense of the style, right? But I think a lot of people know who I am. So I've got to do a little bit more work compared to some of these other guys, which is fine. That's always been the story of my career. I'm willing to still continue to put in the work. I just gotta fight, though."
Instead, Sterling says he’s been left waiting after his last win — a unanimous decision over two-time UFC title challenger Brian Ortega in August.
Sterling said he's asked for dates and opponents, and gotten little clarity in return. It all came to a boil after his RAF 6 wrestling match against Benson Henderson this past weekend. Following Sterling’s third-round tech fall victory, he had plenty to vent about in his post-win media availability regarding his UFC activity levels, or lack thereof.
"That's where it gets a bit frustrating," Sterling said Wednesday, "where you're sitting here, asking for a fight, asking for a date. It kind of just keeps getting kicked down the road, and you're kind of wondering, well, is this by design? I hate to say it's by design, but I mean, it almost feels like it, right? So, just kind of sitting around getting old and wasting my youth — that's kind of where I'm at."
That uncertainty bleeds into a larger issue in MMA: Fighter pay.
Sterling admitted he didn’t even know who the aforementioned Benn was until the recently-announced Zuffa deal. And while he stressed he isn’t begrudging another fighter’s success, the comparison left him puzzled — particularly when stacked against what longtime UFC champions have historically earned.
"I don't think there's any UFC fighter who can ever say they got $15 million for one fight. I don't get it,” Sterling said. “Like if we're comparing the process, right? You have a UFC platform, you have the boxing Zuffa — what are they selling that's different with the product? You're selling advertising spots; you're selling advertising spots over here as well. Like, what actually changes? Is this guy selling a s*** ton of merchandise? I just try to make everything make sense and be fair with the comparison, but how does that guy drive and generate $15 million-plus in excess? When you start to think about these things from a logical standpoint, it makes it a little bit easier to question, and kind of — not just talking s***, where you're actually like trying to understand. Help me understand this process and how we got here.
"Good for him. I'm not going to knock another man, but you've got to imagine a lot of [UFC] fighters have been pretty irritated by that. Rightfully so. Obviously, the fighters ourselves, not everyone's going to be demanding $15 million. But I mean, come on — $7.7 billion. Come on, are we not going to talk about that? That's kind of where I'm at."
This is where the longstanding issue spreads over to MMA. Sterling isn’t the first notable fighter to express concern or confusion about the Benn deal. Veteran contender Michael “Venom” Page shared his thoughts last week on Uncrowned's "The Boys in the Back," and even during Sterling’s appearance on Wednesday, he received support from his old rival Sean O’Malley in the live YouTube chat.
O’Malley, a former UFC bantamweight champion, has already shared similar thoughts to Sterling’s on his YouTube channel, not knowing exactly who Benn was initially. When watching Sterling speak on the issue Wednesday, he chimed in with the YouTube comment: “Aljo saying lots of good stuff.”
Fighters are increasingly speaking out as MMA grows globally with major financial backing, specifically in the UFC. Still, Sterling isn’t expecting sweeping reform thanks to UFC’s near-monopolization of the sport.
"You'll see a lot of guys b****ing and complaining about it,” Sterling said. “You'll hear a lot of other people saying, 'Well, you signed the contract. You negotiated this.' There is no negotiating. Why do these guys keep thinking that? You want to be here or not? And that's why I'm OK.
"I'm OK with being here because there is no other place for us to go. So when you have only one option, you do your job as best as you can, and hope to continue to keep making money as best as you can, and hopefully make as much money as you can outside of fighting. And that's the best advice I could give these [newer] guys, because again, these guys, these fighters, they're not going to get out of their own way to want to band together to make a change, to make a stance. Hoorah. These guys aren't doing that. It's a very selfish sport. The business model is going to be this business model for as long as I can foresee it, because it takes — and starts with — the fighters to want to make a change, right?
"Another guy will come in and do it for free," Sterling continued. "You hear guys constantly pose, 'I'll fight for free.' It's like, what are you guys, brain-dead? You're not even halfway through your career, where you took a lot of brain trauma, to be talking that stupid. It's fascinating, but I think that's where it will end — and it's unfortunate, but that's just the name of the game.
“I’m not saying anything outlandish. This should not get me in trouble, but somehow I know it probably will."
Beyond contracts and matchmaking, Sterling believes fighters themselves contribute to the problem by undercutting one another, particularly in negotiations. The topic became even more relevant this week after UFC 326 headliner Max Holloway and MMA legend Demetrious Johnson spoke out about similar frustrations, citing a past example from the Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight negotiations before Ngannou parted ways with the UFC in early 2023. Each man was jockeying for one of the biggest paydays in UFC history, prompting heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis to chime in and note that he'd fight Ngannou for $1 million, wheras the others sought far more.
“They don't get it. It's like the sponsorship guy that comes in, back when sponsorship was big for MMA,” Sterling said. “You can get $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 from a sponsor. Then you have another guy coming in, and he'll go, 'I'll do it for $5,000 or $10,000.' Then you get some of these managers who come in like, 'I'll give you a bunch of guys, I'll take that $50,000, or I'll even do it for $20,000, and I'll split it up between multiple guys, and they'll be so happy and so grateful.' Then you do this — the bar is [up here], and you keep [bringing it down].
"The managers think they're doing a good job. The fighters think they're doing a good job, and it's just like, you guys are devaluing all of us by doing such undercutting. You guys are cutting out each other’s legs; it’s a crab-in-a-barrel mentality. But I understand when you’re broke, you’re willing to do anything, and that’s the mentality that has to change."
You’ll hear a lot of other people saying, ‘Well, you signed the contract. You negotiated this.’ There is no negotiating. Why do these guys keep thinking that?Aljamain Sterling
For Sterling, it ultimately comes down to self-worth. However, the MMA totem pole starts so low, with so little guidance for most, that it can be overbearing for those who get fast opportunities on the biggest stage.
It all speaks to a lack of understanding and overall business education, says Sterling.
"You get to the UFC, hold yourself up here,” Sterling said. “There was sometimes when we'll have training sessions, and we'll have these guys that geek out when they see other fighters. Bro, you're in the show. Act like you've f***ing been here before. Even if you haven't and it's your first time, have some f***ing class and decency and hold yourself up to a higher standard. You're here. Be that guy. Don't be arrogant, but be that guy. Not the guy who's belittling himself.
"There's a certain way to do certain things, and I think — my personal experience, because I've been around the block for such a long time, because I see these things time and time again — when a guy tried to devalue me, you know what I say? 'Thank you, I appreciate the opportunity, but we're not seeing eye to eye on this. You can find somebody else who's willing to do X, Y and Z.'
"I'm not going to belittle and devalue myself because I know my worth. This guy's saying I'm willing to do it for a million when this guy wants $10 million is like, 'Well, s***. Maybe I should be asking for more money.' Why am I asking for a 90% reduction instead of realizing, 'Oh, I'm the product too. I could possibly do it for something close to that.' That's the difference in the mentality. You'd rather tear that guy down and say, 'I'd do it for this and that.' [That] only helps who? The guys cutting the check. I don't get it.
"Respectfully, fighters, you guys are not very bright,” Sterling added. “I thought it was getting better because there's a lot more college-educated guys coming out and doing this sport. But the mass majority of [UFC fighters], overall on average, we're not the brightest bunch."
As for what’s next, Sterling ideally hopes to return in April at UFC 327, with Yair Rodriguez atop his wishlist.
Category: General Sports
