UFC featherweight contender Aljamain Sterling is pushing back against accusations from divisional rival Aaron Pico that he acts as a UFC rankings merchant. The criticism stems from Pico’s post-fight remarks following his knockout victory over Losene Keita at UFC 333, where he expressed frustration that Sterling declined to fight downward in the rankings after Arnold Allen withdrew from their scheduled bout.
Aljamain Sterling Fires Back at Aaron Pico
Addressing the situation on his YouTube channel, Sterling rejected the assertion that he is merely squatting on his position within the 145-pound division, as reported by sports.yahoo.com via MMAjunkie.com. He pointed out that throughout his career spanning more than 20 UFC bouts, only three of his opponents were unranked, noting that scheduling is ultimately managed by the promotion.
“Aaron Pico called me out, and he basically said I’m a ranking merchant and just squatting on my ranking. It’s just fascinating because of three of my UFC fights, and I’ve had over 20-plus UFC fights, three guys were not ranked in the top 15, top 10, top five. It’s just bizarre to me that he can say that when I don’t control how often I get to fight because the UFC has me waiting,” Sterling said.
Sterling also highlighted his recent competition history to counter the narrative, mentioning his callout of Movsar Evloev, his victory over fifth-ranked Brian Ortega, and his win against Yussef Zalal.
“On top of that, I’m the only one who called out Movsar Evloev. I called for him to fight before he had an opportunity to fight for a world title after losing to Movsar in a very close fight. I then fought Brian Ortega, who was No. 5. After beating Ortega, I beat Yussef Zalal, who was on an eight-fight win streak, five in the UFC, and four of those wins in the UFC were finishes. Now I’m fighting another killer in Kevin Vallejos. I don’t see where the squatting or the trying to protect rank? You have all these guys you can potentially fight. Why are you picking on me, bro?” Sterling said.
Aljamain Sterling Open to Fighting Aaron Pico
With an upcoming matchup against Kevin Vallejos scheduled for next month at UFC Qatar, Sterling’s immediate focus remains on that contest. He views the bout as a crucial step to move past Jean Silva and secure an opportunity at the featherweight championship held by Alexander Volkanovski.
Despite his present focus, Sterling indicated he would be willing to face Pico in the future under the right career circumstances.
“It has nothing to do fighting guys behind me; I don’t care who I fight. I just need to know that the direction I’m going is going to take me where I want to go. There’s a destination to the game, and I know Pico knows that. So him trying to create a narrative that I’m avoiding him, or anyone is avoiding him, no. You came in, and you got flatlined by one guy, a decision maker like Movsar Evloev, and then you’re trying to call shots like you’ve been killing the game the whole time. Bro, what are you talking about?” Sterling said.
Sterling prepares to face Kevin Vallejos at UFC Qatar next month.
