Aljamain Sterling has never been shy about asking for what he wants – and believes he deserves. After a big win over a former UFC champion, that includes a main-card spot.

Shortly after beating ex-bantamweight titleholder Renan Barao (34-5-1 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in a catchweight bout at UFC 214, Sterling (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) expressed his interest in meeting fellow contender Jimmie Rivera (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) next. That – along with the desire for a rematch with Bryan Caraway (21-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) – still stands.

But now two wins removed from a two-fight skid that included the first setback of his entire professional career, the 28-year-old bantamweight has another request.

“Honestly, my next fight better be on the goddamn main card,” Sterling told MMAjunkie Radio. “I’m not even kidding at this point. This is beyond ridiculous, if you ask me. (UFC 214) was a blockbuster card on paper, so I get that, but I’m like, ‘Wow, you guys got Barao, a former world champ, on the undercard.’ It’s kind of crazy. But I think I deserve my fair shake at this point.

“I think I have a big enough name now. I’m eight fights into my UFC career. So, why not? Let’s start making some real money, man. I’m in this sport to change my life. I’m in this sport to to change my parents’ lives and the loved ones around me. That’s really what I care about. And I can’t do that if they keep putting me on these prelims.”

But that’s not all Sterling would like to negotiate with the promotion at some point in the near future.

“These guys signed me to an eight-fight deal; I was so pissed,” Sterling said. “I’m still under contract, and I need a new contract.”

The bantamweight chose to re-sign with the UFC early last year after a highly publicized free-agency period. Four fights later, Sterling explains why he ended up agreeing to such a long deal.

“It was a weird period, that whole time frame, that whole free agency thing was just very very odd,” Sterling said. “And things got a little personal. And things stared going the wrong way. And I was trying to not make it go that route, I guess. And just for argument’s sake and to make everything just be at ease.

“I guess I kind of just took it, because it was kind of almost like a ‘take it or leave it’ kind of thing. I was just in a weird spot. At that point, I really felt like my back was against the wall; I really had no other options. I see these other guys, they re-sign contracts all the time.

“So I’m like, ‘Man, I’ve just got to go out there and win, beat some good guys, and I should be able to get a new contract based on increased popularity.’ I think it makes sense. Why not? At this point, why should I have to fight out four more fights at that rate when they’re going to be making more money? It just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

The eagerness to finish his contract, Sterling says, was the main reason why he managed to squeeze in four fights in a relatively short 14-month window. The first two, of course, didn’t pan out so well for Sterling, who ended up dropping admittedly frustrating split decisions to Caraway and Raphael Assuncao.

But Sterling has recovered. First, with a unanimous nod over grappling ace Augusto Mendes at UFC on FOX 24 and now with the huge win over the once-dominant Barao. Now, as Sterling resumes his way up, he looks back on the tough lessons he learned by being down.

“(The Barao win) was everything that I’d been trying to accomplish three, four fights ago,” Sterling said. “Coming off the big win over Johnny Eduardo, doing the whole free agency thing, being that guy in the limelight and then doing the whole promotion thing with Eric B, leading up to the Caraway fight and just not delivering anywhere close to my true capabilities.

“Big letdowns. I just feel like the media, even like close friends – I guess I can’t even call them close friends, just some friends I thought really did believe in me. They started to doubt me. And it kind of lets you know where you really stand in people’s minds. It was all a learning process. I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about people, and how this world works.”

To hear more of Sterling’s candid thoughts on his career, learning experiences and his future, check out the video above.

And for more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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