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The desired effect is what you get when you improve your Interplanetary Funksmanship

- George Clinton

Aljamain Sterling has been a mainstay of the UFC bantamweight division since 2014, but it’s only in the past few years and most especially in his last two performances, big wins over top contenders Jimmy Rivera and Pedro Munhoz, that he’s established himself as one of the most dangerous challengers to Henry Cejudo’s incipient title reign. Sterling has always been physically talented and has brought an eclectic mix of skills to the cage, but that same variety has meant that it took a long time for his game to coalesce into the complete style he’s displayed in his last few outings. So what does Sterling do well, and how has that changed over the years? What about his development has pushed him from being a dangerous but mercurial mid top-10 guy to title challenger? To answer those questions we’ll take a look back at his last several fights and talk about the skills he’s always had, the ones he’s recently added, and how those additions have amplified his existing arsenal.

Climbing the Ladder

Sterling entered the UFC with a perfect 8-0 record assembled on the tough New York/New England regional scene. He made his bones off the strength of his wrestling and submission game. Sterling was a 2x D3 All American at SUNY-Cortland, and his scrambling, mat wrestling oriented style (the ‘Funkmaster’ nickname is a reference to his wrestling style, presumably the sweet high top fade came later) was a good fit for MMA. Aljo has always had a knack for taking the back, with 4 of his first 8 wins coming by RNC. In addition to his grappling Sterling showed an early preference for kicking, perhaps due to his long frame or maybe from training alongside Jon Jones (a fighter to whom he is frequently but in my mind erroneously compared). This combination, kicking on the outside and bridging the gap with shots into the clinch, would carry him throughout his early UFC career as he picked up four wins before running into Bryan Caraway.

The Caraway fight was closely contested but it also showed some of the limits of Sterling’s early style. While not especially athletic, Caraway was tough, experienced, and perhaps most difficult for Sterling to deal with he was also an excellent grappler, one of the best in the division. Sterling dominated the first round, but when Caraway came out for the second feinting and pressuring Aljo looked less confident on the feet. While he still hit Caraway with some very solid shots, he also reacted to almost every feint and punch by jumping backwards several feet allowing Caraway to put him on the fence. In both the second and third rounds Caraway was able to use this strategy to clinch up, grind out the TD, and steal the round.