Aljamain Sterling 'Confused' By Preliminary Card Placement at UFC 310

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

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Aljamain Sterling (24-4) believes the UFC will regret not putting his matchup against Movsar Evloev (18-0) on the main card.

Aljamain Sterling 'Confused' By Preliminary Card Placement at UFC 310

Aljamain Sterling (24-4) believes the UFC will regret not putting his matchup against Movsar Evloev (18-0) on the main card.

www.sherdog.com

Sterling and Evloev will clash on the prelims at UFC 310 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The former UFC bantamweight champ isn’t even part of the evening’s featured preliminary bout, as that position instead goes to Dominick Reyes and Anthony Smith.

While Sterling is confused by his placement on the card, he chooses to see the positive side of fighting on the prelims. “Funkmaster” is glad that he will be done early and hopefully get to celebrate a win with his friends while enjoying the rest of the card.


While both Sterling and Evloev are among the best featherweights in the world, neither has the most fan-friendly style. Both Sterling and Evloev have often been criticized for lackluster performances and the lack of finishes on their records. However, Sterling believes both fans and the promotion are in for a big surprise at UFC 310.

“I don’t know if I should have been insulted by the placement on the fight card or glass half full. I guess that’s the best way I can try to look at everything in life,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I get to fight earlier, get to be done earlier, get to pop open a fresh bottle of Funk Harbor, hang out with the friends and celebrate a big win. I was a little confused by it, of course. I guess they have their rhyme or reason for what they do, the UFC brass. And it is what it is. At the end of the day, it’s not my organization. I don’t call the shots. I just go out there and compete. And it’s up to me to go out there and prove these guys wrong. That, ‘Hey, we are and I am a main card fighter.’ I think people are gonna be in for a very big surprise. And the UFC is gonna realize, ‘We messed up big time by not putting this on the main card.’”

Aljamain Sterling reacts to his fight against Movsar Evloev being placed on the #UFC310 prelims:

“I am a main card fighter… The UFC is gonna realize ‘we messed up big time by not putting this on the main card’.”

@funkmasterMMA #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/StTUBWKCdY
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 2, 2024

Sterling’s bantamweight title reign ended with a knockout loss against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 last year. Sterling has since moved up to featherweight, scoring a dominant decision win over Calvin Kattar in his divisional debut at UFC 300 this past April.

Meanwhile, Evloev has been victorious in his first eight promotional appearances, the latest of which came against Arnold Allen at UFC 297 this past January.

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[Lord Pyjamas]

Let's see it happen first!
But he should be on the main card.

 

[sdpdude9]

Yeah, I don’t really get why a potential title eliminator is the second fight of the prelims while an unranked and a random nonsense fight in the same division are on the ppv card.

 

[VinceArch]

His performance at 300 is probably the reason.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

Weird, i remember some people telling me that fighters don't care which card they're on.

It is certainly a head scratcher in terms of, sure people may assume coming in that it'll be boring, but this SHOULD be a title eliminator (don't remember many cases of a champ moving up and having to still run he gauntlet) if not result in a guy who will be in the next eliminator, so you don't want them to have no exposure now. If you wanted to bury them, you should have been doing it long before they got to this position

 

[Dr Fong]

'And it is what it is. At the end of the day, it’s not my organization. I don’t call the shots. I just go out and compete.'

And this is exactly what they, and your stooge manager you mistakenly think is working in your best interests, want you to say.

 

[Dr Fong]

Yeah, I don’t really get why a potential title eliminator is the second fight of the prelims while an unranked and a random nonsense fight in the same division are on the ppv card.

They are doing it deliberately to avoid spotlighting a guy they don't want in the next title fight. Shitty behavior but it makes pefect sense.

But, yes, the baffling thing is having Kron Gracie on the main card. Have they not seen how badly he shits up their product? I would say he makes it look like bum fights but bum fights don't involve butt scooting.

Do they think people are buying PPVs for a random no-name Gracie in 2024? I don't understand the play.

 

[Blanqa Blanqua]

If someone treats me poorly or changes up on me I can usually figure out why.

Probably he could too with a bit of self honesty and or effort.

 

[AmonTobin]

Best thing he can do is go out there and try to prove em all wrong. Go get a FOTN.

 

[Rorschachxx]

Weird, i remember some people telling me that fighters don't care which card they're on.

I say this with all due respect, when a fighter claims they'd rather be on the prelims than on PPV because its more eyeballs, ESPN, fight earlier, whatever - I almost never believe them.

Being on PPV is the best placement for a fighters career. Anything else reeks of cope.

 

[Cheese_&_mma_lover]

the winner of this match will for sure get a title fight.

 

[hoevan]

His performance at 300 is probably the reason.

Looks to me like he's heading the way of John Fitch.

 

[VinceArch]

Looks to me like he's heading the way of John Fitch.

Oof.

 

[nostradumbass]

I would think having 3 finishes in his last 16 fights, one of which was against a guy who came into the fight with his arm hanging out of socket, might have something to do with it.

 

[whocares]

This is like an onion article. "Habitually boring fighter befuddled by icy reception"

 

[Gamer007]

I get the idea of trying to put fun fights toward the end of the prelims, but no one can defend how purely crap the match orders are.

Kron Gracie has no business on the main card, he hasn't won a fight since 2019!!!

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

@lsa

 

[WokeWarrior]

Me every time dana disrespects Aljo

 

[Domitian]

Yeah, I don’t really get why a potential title eliminator is the second fight of the prelims while an unranked and a random nonsense fight in the same division are on the ppv card.

I think with this move they are making it clear this is not a title eliminator. UFC just wants to kill one of them out of the title picture. Volk and Lopes are both ahead of them evidenced by UFC bringing them to the event where Topuria fought Max.

 

[NextGen]

Obviously on Dana's shitlist. UFC 300 is a big reason why.