35 Facts About Aljamain Sterling

1.

Aljamain Antoine Sterling was born on July 31,1989 and is a Jamaican-American mixed martial artist.

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2.

Aljamain Sterling currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion.

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3.

Aljamain Sterling was born in 1989 in Uniondale, New York to Jamaican parents, Cleveland and Sophia Aljamain Sterling.

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4.

Aljamain Sterling grew up with seven full siblings and at least 12 half-siblings.

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5.

Unable to catch up with the grades to reach Division I, Aljamain Sterling opted to enroll at Morrisville State College where he continued wrestling.

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6.

Aljamain Sterling graduated from Cortland with a bachelor's degree in physical education.

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7.

Aljamain Sterling was defeated by points in the first match but tapped out Bravo-Young in the second one.

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8.

Aljamain Sterling earned the nickname “The Funk Master” from his unorthodox wrestling style.

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9.

Aljamain Sterling started his amateur career in 2009 with a submission win.

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10.

Aljamain Sterling captured the Raging Wolf amateur Bantamweight Championship and Extreme FC amateur Featherweight Championship along the way.

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11.

Aljamain Sterling would go on to defeat Claudio Ledesma by split decision to capture the title.

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12.

Aljamain Sterling made his CFFC debut in a Featherweight bout against Evan Chmieleski.

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13.

Aljamain Sterling won the fight by TKO with just two seconds left in the first round.

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14.

Aljamain Sterling defeated Sean Santella via unanimous decision to capture his second professional title.

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15.

Aljamain Sterling would go on to defend the CFFC Bantamweight Championship on three occasions.

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16.

Aljamain Sterling finished all three of his title defenses by rear naked choke, which earned him the opportunity to compete in the UFC.

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17.

Aljamain Sterling was scheduled to make his UFC debut at UFC 170 against Lucas Martins, replacing an injured Bryan Caraway.

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18.

Aljamain Sterling made his second UFC appearance on July 16,2014, at UFC Fight Night 45 against Hugo Viana.

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19.

Aljamain Sterling was expected to face Mitch Gagnon at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs Saffiedine on October 4,2014.

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20.

However, Aljamain Sterling pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Rob Font.

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21.

Aljamain Sterling was expected to face Manny Gamburyan on April 18,2015 at UFC on Fox 15.

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22.

Aljamain Sterling faced Johnny Eduardo on December 10,2015 at UFC Fight Night 80.

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23.

Aljamain Sterling next faced Bryan Caraway on May 29,2016 at UFC Fight Night 88.

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24.

Aljamain Sterling was expected to face Raphael Assuncao on December 9,2016 at UFC Fight Night 102.

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25.

Aljamain Sterling faced Augusto Mendes on April 15,2017 at UFC on Fox 24.

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26.

The bout with Aljamain Sterling proceeded as scheduled at a catchweight of 140 lbs.

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27.

Aljamain Sterling was expected to face Rani Yahya on December 9,2017 at UFC Fight Night 123.

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28.

Aljamain Sterling faced Brett Johns on April 21,2018 at UFC Fight Night 128.

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29.

Aljamain Sterling faced Jimmie Rivera on February 17,2019 at UFC on ESPN 1.

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30.

Aljamain Sterling faced Cory Sandhagen on June 6,2020 at UFC 250 in a bout that UFC president Dana White confirmed to be a bantamweight title eliminator.

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31.

Aljamain Sterling was expected to face Petr Yan for the UFC Bantamweight Championship on December 12,2020 at UFC 256.

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32.

Aljamain Sterling won the fight by disqualification due to an intentional illegal knee in the fourth round, becoming the new UFC Bantamweight Champion.

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33.

Aljamain Sterling became the first fighter in UFC history to win a championship by disqualification.

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34.

Aljamain Sterling won the close bout and defended the title via split decision.

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35.

Aljamain Sterling won the one-sided bout against the seemingly injured former champion via TKO in the second round.

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