Aljamain Sterling

Overview

Eleven of Aljamain Sterling's 18 UFC wins came by decision, and he has gone the full five rounds in five of those fights. Elite opponents are where he has done his best work: four wins over elite-tier opponents, including two over Petr Yan.

He is a Serra-Longo product from New York who debuted in the UFC on February 21, 2014, and he sits at 18-5 in the promotion (26-5-0 across all promotions). Six of those 18 wins were finishes, one more ended on a disqualification, and the other eleven went to the scorecards. He carries a two-fight win streak at featherweight into his next fight.

He wins, and he usually wins on the scorecards.

UFC Career

Sterling opened his UFC run with four straight wins: a unanimous decision over Cody Gibson, a third-round TKO of Hugo Viana, then submissions of Takeya Mizugaki in the third and Johnny Eduardo in the second. Two split decision losses followed, to Bryan Caraway and Raphael Assuncao.

From April 2017 through May 2023 he built a nine-fight win streak, the longest of his UFC career. It included decisions over Renan Barao, Jimmie Rivera and Pedro Munhoz, plus a first-round submission of Cory Sandhagen in 1:28. Two fights with Petr Yan sit inside that run: a fourth-round DQ win at UFC 259 and a split decision after five rounds at UFC 273. Our model rates Yan as an elite opponent in both.

The streak ran on with a second-round TKO of TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280 and a split decision over Henry Cejudo, another elite opponent, in a five-round main event at UFC 288. That made nine in a row.

Then came the sharpest swing of his career. Sean O'Malley stopped him in the second round at UFC 292, at 0:51, in another main event. Sterling responded with a unanimous decision over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300, then lost a unanimous decision to Movsar Evloev, an elite opponent.

Two wins have followed: a five-round unanimous decision over Brian Ortega and a five-round unanimous decision over Youssef Zalal in a main event.

Fighting Style

Aljamain Sterling is a busy, accurate striker who is hard to hit. He lands more than most UFC fighters and absorbs well below what the typical fighter takes. He also shoots for takedowns far more often than most, which makes grappling a constant part of his game.

The soft spot is defending takedowns. He gets taken down more than most, even as he is hard to hit on the feet.

Don't file him under decision grinders. Four of his UFC wins came by submission, all between rounds one and three, and two came by KO/TKO. His six finishes are spread across rounds, with just one in the first.

Two of his five UFC losses came by KO/TKO and three by decision, with none by submission.

Notable Wins

• Petr Yan — DQ, round 4 (4:29), UFC 259 (2021)
• Petr Yan — split decision, round 5, UFC 273 (2022)
• TJ Dillashaw — KO/TKO, round 2 (3:44), UFC 280 (2022)
• Henry Cejudo — split decision, round 5, UFC 288 (2023)

Quick Facts

• Division: Featherweight
• UFC record: 18-5 (6 finishes, 11 decisions, 1 DQ)
• Professional record, all promotions: 26-5-0
• UFC debut: February 21, 2014
• Stance: Orthodox
• Reach: 71"
• Height: 5'7"
• Team: Serra-Longo, Long Island, NY
• Born: New York, United States