Following his loss of the UFC bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley, Aljamain Sterling has expressed confusion and frustration over UFC CEO Dana White’s continuous criticism of him, noting that he’s been a company man doing everything asked of him and has delivered in fights, and is unsure why he isn’t receiving the same support or praise from White as other fighters.
Aljamain Sterling was backstage at UFC 292, relishing a slice of pizza when he was interrupted by UFC CEO Dana White, who appeared suddenly and asked if Sterling was okay. This incident took place moments after Sterling had lost his UFC bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley. In his surprise, Sterling could only ponder Dana White’s thoughts. ““It was kind of like, I know he’s probably looking at me probably, just…I don’t know what he was thinking,” Sterling said. He also suggested that Dana White must have been happy about O’Malley’s win, as it was a more profitable outcome for the organization.
In his fight against O’Malley, Sterling had chosen to strike with the intention of entertaining the fans and his promoters, a decision he later thought hurt his chances and led to his defeat. This loss significantly impacted the momentum of his career. Sterling discussed this, expressing disappointment about his prior uneasy standing with the UFC. He recalled that his title bout was announced less than a day after he mentioned needing time to recuperate from a title defense against Henry Cejudo at UFC 288.
Sterling further expressed his puzzlement at Dana White’s continuous public criticisms of him, despite being agreeable and amiable in private. He stated, “If there’s anything I’ve said about Dana, like he said, he’s cool in person. But then, I don’t know, it’s like as soon as he gets the mic to say anything about me, I never once heard the guy say anything positive about me”. Sterling expressed frustration at the way his reputation was manipulated, and felt that Dana White intentionally made the fans develop a dislike for him that he didn’t quite understand.
Having lost his title, Sterling has limited options going forward: he can either ask for a rematch with O’Malley, fight other bantamweight contenders, or move up to the featherweight division. The possibility of a fight with his training partner, Merab Dvalishvili, still remains out of question due to Dana White’s insistence that the two were “clogging up” the division. Despite all this, he remains adamant that he is one of the most dedicated fighters in the UFC, always showing up at his best, fighting the most challenging opponents and doing his utmost to promote and create excitement around his fights.