Aljamain Sterling calls out UFC for lack of title shot opportunities: "Gimme the incentive!"

Aljamain Sterling has been eyeing the UFC featherweight title for some time now. So, it stands to reason that he has reacted with confusion over fighters in other divisions being granted opportunities to fight for a belt, while he remains sidelined and likely in need of more wins than others on the roster.

Aljamain Sterling wants more opportunities

UFC 331 will feature a lightweight title eliminator between Mauricio Ruffy and Arman Tsarukyan. With the fight a little less than a month away, Ruffy has claimed that the UFC has assured him that he will be the next title challenger for newly-minted lightweight kingpin Justin Gaethje if he wins at UFC 331. This gained 'Funk Master's' attention, as he recently took to X to complain about the UFC not affording him similar opporrtunities, despite the fact he is on also on a two-fight win streak like Ruffy.

"Soooo a n*gga couldn't get the same opportunity?! Da faq going on around hurrr?! Gimme the incentive!"

While Sterling's grievances are understandable, there are other factors at play when it comes to the UFC's decision-making. Sterling is a former bantamweight champion, among the greatest of all time, and he is coming off two unanimous decision wins over Brian Ortega and Youssef Zalal at UFC Fight Night 257 and UFC Vegas 116 respectively, and therein lies the problem. He's not an exciting fighter with a penchant for finishes, nor does he have the kind of flashy personality that usually earns fighters the kind of fanbase large enough to persuade the UFC to promote them. 

Ruffy, by contrast, provides more entertainment value. He is a consistent finisher, with 13 of his 14 wins coming via knockout or TKO. Furthermore, his two-fight win streak consists of a second-round TKO of Rafael Fiziev at UFC 325, and a first-round TKO of Michael Chandler at UFC Freedom 250. His fighting style is also reminiscent of Conor McGregor's former featherweight style, that combined a floating karate stance with Taekwondo kicks and sharp boxing. Though it's only sensible that Sterling is now feeling a sense of urgency. He is 37 years old in a division that is notoriously unkind to aging fighters, so it's now or never for him to earn a crack at 145-pound gold, and he won't do so by turning down fights.