The former bantamweight champion was looking to continue his featherweight title charge, which began by beating Calvin Kattar, when he took on top contender Movsar Evloev at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Sterling was competitive throughout the 15-minute grappling-heavy affair, but he ultimately fell to a unanimous decision defeat courtesy of 29-28, 29-28, and 29-28 scorecards from the cageside judges.
Joe Rogan and Khabib Nurmagomedov immediately called for the 19-0 Russian to get a shot at featherweight champion Ilia Topuria next – but Evloev refused to issue a call out during his post-fight interview.
Aljamain Sterling speaks out after UFC 310
Sterling wasn’t given a chance to address the audience after suffering a close loss at UFC 310.
‘The Funk Master’ clearly had a lot to say as he took to social media soon after heading backstage.
Sterling tweeted: “Tough fight…I thought I might’ve edged it out against a tough opponent, but we came up short.
“Thank you all for the love and support and I hope the performance was a fun one for you all to watch.
“Movsar is a beast, I showed where I belong in this division. For now, we decompress and heal up, then get ready to climb the ladder again. The dream doesn’t stop unless you give up! I’ll be back”
Aljamain Sterling added pictures and videos of him interacting with his UFC 310 opponent.
The 35-year-old also included a clip of him reflecting on a tough fight that could’ve gone either way.
Aljamain Sterling was unhappy with UFC 310 card placement
Despite being an ex-champion, Aljamain Sterling found himself way down the card for his latest fight.
Dana White deemed his featherweight title eliminator unworthy of featuring on the main card.
It wasn’t even the featured prelim, which fans pointed out as odd ahead of the final PPV of the year.
Sterling publicly addressed the issue days before his sophomore appearance at 145lbs.
“I didn’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 try and look at everything in life,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“I get to fight earlier and get to be done earlier. 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 I am a main card fighter. I think people are 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.’”