Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Antoine Sterling, known to fans as "Funk Master," is an American mixed martial artist who has competed in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former UFC Bantamweight Champion whose funky, high-output grappling made him one of the division's most distinctive competitors.

Sterling was born and raised in Uniondale, New York, where he wrestled in high school before earning a physical education degree at SUNY Cortland. There he became a two-time NCAA Division III All-American wrestler, compiling an 87-27 collegiate record. That wrestling foundation became the base he built his mixed martial arts career on after turning professional, training out of the Serra-Longo Fight Team on Long Island under Ray Longo and Matt Serra, from whom he also earned a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

In the cage, Sterling built a reputation for an unorthodox, scrambling style that blends collegiate wrestling pressure with slick submission grappling and awkward striking angles, a combination that made him difficult to plan for and gave rise to his "Funk Master" nickname.

Sterling's biggest career moment came at UFC 259, where he won the UFC Bantamweight Championship over Petr Yan after Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee strike. He went on to unify the title with a split-decision win in their rematch at UFC 273, then defended the belt against T.J. Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo before eventually losing the championship. He later moved up to featherweight, continuing his career at 145 pounds.

Sterling's title reign remains one of the more unusual and hard-fought chapters in UFC bantamweight history, and his relentless, unconventional grappling has left a lasting mark on the division. Outside the cage, he has remained connected to his wrestling roots, returning to Long Island to train and mentor young wrestlers.