Aljamain Sterling
“Funk Master”
Professional record
Last 5: WWLWL
Profile
- Age
- 37 (born July 31, 1989)
- Born in
- Uniondale
- Height
- 5' 7"
- Weight
- 145 lbs.
- Reach
- 71"
- Stance
- Orthodox
- UFC record
- 18-5
- Title fights
- 5
How the fights ended
Wins in the UFC18
- KO/TKO 2
- Submission 4
- Decision 11
- Other 1
Losses in the UFC5
- KO/TKO 2
- Decision 3
UFC career stats
Striking
- Significant strikes landed per minute
- 4.26 top 26%
- Significant strikes absorbed per minute
- 2.15
Grappling
- Takedowns per 15 minutes
- 2.54 top 19%
- Submission attempts per 15 minutes
- 0.6
Next fight
In the record book
- #6 · Most body strikes landed (all-time)443
- #1 · Most wins (bantamweight)14
- #1 · Most body strikes landed (bantamweight)375
- #2 · Most ground strikes landed (bantamweight)194
- #2 · Most control time (bantamweight)1:09:10
- #2 · Most control time in a fight (featherweight)13:49
- #2 · Most ground and pound knockouts (bantamweight)2
- #3 · Most submission wins (bantamweight)4
- #3 · Most total strikes landed (bantamweight)1,670
About Aljamain Sterling
Born on July 31, 1989 in Uniondale, United States, Aljamain Sterling "Funk Master" competes as a featherweight mixed martial artist. Sterling is 5' 7" tall with a 71" reach, long for that height. The official UFC rankings have Sterling at #4 in the featherweight division.
Sterling has fought professionally since 2011, debuting with Urban Conflict Championships. Sterling arrived in the UFC with an 8-0 record. The UFC debut came at UFC 170: Rousey vs McMann in February 2014, where Sterling beat Cody Gibson by decision. Sterling's UFC record stands at 18-5 after 23 fights. Sterling first won a UFC title fight at UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya, beating Petr Yan, and has won 4 title fights in total.
Sterling usually wins on the scorecards: 11 of 18 UFC wins went to a decision. In the stats, Sterling is more accurate with significant strikes than 85% of featherweights and lands more takedowns per 15 minutes than 81% of featherweights. Notable wins include Henry Cejudo, TJ Dillashaw, Petr Yan and Renan Barao, all UFC title-fight winners.
The quickest UFC win of Sterling's career took 1:28, against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer. Sterling's record in UFC title fights stands at 4-1. Sterling has never been submitted in the UFC. Sterling has fought Petr Yan twice in the UFC (won, won).
Next up: Kevin Vallejos at UFC Fight Night: Procházka vs. Stirling on November 21, 2026.
UFC fight history
-
W
Decision - Unanimous · R5 5:00
UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal
Apr 25, 2026
46Str 6TD 0KD -
W
Decision - Unanimous · R5 5:00
UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang
Aug 23, 2025
124Str 3TD 0KD -
L
Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00
Dec 7, 2024
12Str 6TD 0KD -
W
Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00
Apr 13, 2024
39Str 8TD 0KD -
L
Sean O'Malley Title
KO/TKO · Punches to Head On Ground · R2 0:51
UFC 292: Sterling vs. O'Malley
Aug 19, 2023
17Str 0TD 0KD -
W
Henry Cejudo Title
Decision - Split · R5 5:00
May 6, 2023
135Str 4TD 0KD -
W
TJ Dillashaw Title
KO/TKO · Punches to Head From Back Control · R2 3:44
UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev
Oct 22, 2022
72Str 5TD 0KD -
W
Petr Yan Title
Decision - Split · R5 5:00
UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie
Apr 9, 2022
62Str 2TD 0KD -
W
Petr Yan Title
DQ · Illegal Knee to Grounded Opponent · R4 4:29
UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya
Mar 6, 2021
97Str 1TD 0KD -
W
Submission · Rear Naked Choke · R1 1:28
Jun 6, 2020
2Str 0TD 0KD -
W
Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00
Jun 8, 2019
174Str 0TD 0KD -
W
Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00
UFC Fight Night: Ngannou vs. Velasquez
Feb 17, 2019
101Str 0TD 0KD -
W
Submission · Suloev Stretch From Back Control · R2 3:42
Sep 8, 2018
33Str 2TD 0KD -
W
Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00
UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee
Apr 21, 2018
89Str 3TD 0KD -
L
KO/TKO · Knee to Head At Distance · R1 1:07
UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega
Dec 9, 2017
3Str 0TD 0KD -
W
Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00
Jul 29, 2017
71Str 1TD 0KD -
W
Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00
Apr 15, 2017
83Str 2TD 0KD -
L
Decision - Split · R3 5:00
UFC on FOX: Shevchenko vs. Pena
Jan 28, 2017
52Str 0TD 0KD -
L
Decision - Split · R3 5:00
UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs Garbrandt
May 29, 2016
32Str 1TD 0KD -
W
Submission · Guillotine Choke On Ground · R2 4:18
UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant
Dec 10, 2015
23Str 2TD 0KD -
W
Submission · Arm Triangle From Bottom Guard · R3 2:11
UFC on FOX: Machida vs Rockhold
Apr 18, 2015
32Str 3TD 0KD -
W
KO/TKO · Punches to Head From Mount · R3 3:50
UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs Miller
Jul 16, 2014
62Str 4TD 0KD -
W
Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00
Feb 22, 2014
46Str 3TD 0KD
Full MMA career
Aljamain Sterling is 26-5 across 31 professional fights in 5 promotions, since a pro debut on April 22, 2011 (Urban Conflict Championships). 8 of those fights were outside the UFC.
Pro wins26
- KO/TKO 3
- Submission 8
- Decision 14
- Other 1
Pro losses5
- KO/TKO 2
- Decision 3
- Finish rate
- 42% of wins
- Longest win streak
- 12
- Current streak
- 2 wins
Fights by promotion
| Promotion | Record | First fight |
|---|---|---|
| UFC | 18-5 | 2014 |
| CFFC | 5-0 | 2011 |
| Extreme Fight Club | 1-0 | 2011 |
| Ring of Combat | 1-0 | 2011 |
| Urban Conflict Championships | 1-0 | 2011 |
All professional fights
| Result | Opponent | Date |
|---|---|---|
| W | Youssef Zalal | Apr 25, 2026 |
| W | Brian Ortega | Aug 23, 2025 |
| L | Movsar Evloev | Dec 7, 2024 |
| W | Calvin Kattar | Apr 13, 2024 |
| L | Sean O'Malley | Aug 19, 2023 |
| W | Henry Cejudo | May 6, 2023 |
| W | T.J. Dillashaw | Oct 22, 2022 |
| W | Petr Yan | Apr 9, 2022 |
| W | Petr Yan | Mar 6, 2021 |
| W | Cory Sandhagen | Jun 6, 2020 |
| W | Pedro Munhoz | Jun 8, 2019 |
| W | Jimmie Rivera | Feb 17, 2019 |
| W | Cody Stamann | Sep 8, 2018 |
| W | Brett Johns | Apr 21, 2018 |
| L | Marlon Moraes | Dec 9, 2017 |
| W | Renan Barão | Jul 29, 2017 |
| W | Augusto Mendes | Apr 15, 2017 |
| L | Raphael Assunção | Jan 28, 2017 |
| L | Bryan Caraway | May 29, 2016 |
| W | Johnny Eduardo | Dec 10, 2015 |
| W | Takeya Mizugaki | Apr 18, 2015 |
| W | Hugo Viana | Jul 16, 2014 |
| W | Cody Gibson | Feb 22, 2014 |
| W | Joel Roberts | Nov 2, 2013 |
| W | Sidemar Honorio | Aug 24, 2012 |
| W | Casey Johnson | Apr 14, 2012 |
| W | Sean Santella | Oct 22, 2011 |
| W | Evan Chmielski | Jul 23, 2011 |
| W | Claudio Ledesma | Jun 17, 2011 |
| W | Harley Leimbach | May 21, 2011 |
| W | Sergio da Silva | Apr 22, 2011 |
Full professional record from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Quick answers
What is Aljamain Sterling's record?
Aljamain Sterling's professional MMA record is 26 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws.
How old is Aljamain Sterling?
Aljamain Sterling is 37 years old, born on July 31, 1989.
How tall is Aljamain Sterling and what is their reach?
Aljamain Sterling stands 5' 7" with a 71" reach.
Who is Aljamain Sterling fighting next?
Aljamain Sterling is scheduled to face Kevin Vallejos at UFC Fight Night: Procházka vs. Stirling on November 21, 2026.
Photo: MMAnytt, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
