Aljamain Sterling says he needs to deliver an entertaining performance against Kevin Vallejos if he is to stand any chance of earning a title shot.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Sterling is lined up to face rising Argentinian star Vallejos when the UFC returns to Qatar on November 21.
Having gone 3-1 since moving up to 145 pounds in 2024, “Funkmaster” is firmly in the mix when it comes to deciding who will face the winner of the featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 later this month.
Speaking during his appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Wednesday, Sterling said that he believes entertaining performances matter more than rankings when it comes to earning a title shot.
“That's more so kind of what it is, just building exciting fights,2 the 37-year-old told Helwani. “I personally don't think rankings matter as much anymore. It seems like the direction is obvious that it's who has the better performance.
“I mean, Jean Silva beat a guy named Jose Delgado (at) short notice, and (Delgado) dropped him and hurt him pretty bad. And if he thinks he deserves a title shot over that performance. That's just absurd and delusional.
“You got Vallejos taking on myself, and then you got Keita stepping in on short... well, I don't want to say short notice, but stepping in for Abu Dhabi against Aaron Pico, who's 1-1 in the UFC. There's no clear-cut contenders right now.”
Sterling believes he was certainly in with a chance of earning a title shot against Volkanovski before Evloev was eventually pencilled in to face the current champion in Abu Dhabi.
“I think if anyone (you) could have made a case for me, just based on what I've done in my resume at 135, OG versus OG in case Volk wins this fight, or even a great rematch with myself and Movsar in a fight that a lot of people thought I won, including myself. So I got to go out there, get some style points, and I'm going to shock the world, man. I'm excited for this.”
