UFC bantamweight Bryan Caraway has a list of desired opponents for his next octagon bout. They are Aljamain Sterling Thomas Almeida and John Lineker

You might think Sterling is first on that list because of a few incendiary tweets recently sent Caraway’s direction. He’s not.

Sterling can call Caraway “Mr. Tate,” in reference to his longstanding relationship with newly minted UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate. He can ask when he’s retiring to be a housewife. He can include his picture in a Twitter post wishing the world a happy International Women’s Day.

Joking or not, Caraway (20-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) isn’t buying in.

“This, to me, is not emotional,” he told MMAjunkie. “That’s not where the sport goes for me. If it starts going like that, it becomes a circus. It becomes a bullying mentality and teaches all these kids that if you talk crap and bully people, you get what you want in life. That’s not the way I’m trying to go.”

Caraway is 5-2 since his time on “The Ultimate Fighter 14” and is the No. 8 ranked bantamweight in the UFC’s official rankings (while being an honorable mention in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie list). This past July, he outpointed onetime interim title challenger Eddie Wineland. To him, the fight with Sterling is a business decision, and nothing more.

“I’m not trying to get to where I want to go because I’m bullying people,” Caraway said. “I want to fight (Sterling) because he’s ranked 5th in the world. I don’t care what he says.”

The recently resurgent McDonald (17-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and red-hot Almeida (20-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) are also ranked higher – at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively, on the UFC’s list – and thus are desirable opponents. Lineker (26-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC), he said, is ranked No. 12, but is an “extremely exciting” fight.

So what’s holding Caraway back? He’s not sure. He said he’s been trying to get a fight since this past November to no avail.

A meeting with Lineker appeared to be in the works before the heavy-handed Brazilian was tapped to meet Cody Garbrandt (and subsequently pulled out due to a bout with Dengue fever). Caraway said another potential fight with Alemeida was all but teed up before it somehow slipped from his fingers.

“Thomas Almeida’s camp, his manager, actually wanted to fight me,” he said. “(Thomas Almeida) called his manager. They wanted to fight me. We wanted to fight them, and I don’t know if he’s just backing off, scared, or the UFC’s trying to protect him, because they won’t let me fight him.

“We both wanted the fight, and the UFC basically said, ‘No, it’s not happening.'”

The UFC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, so it’s not immediately clear why Caraway remains on the shelf.

“I don’t know what the UFC’s plan is,” he said. “They’re trying to say I’m ducking people, but here I am calling out these guys, and it’s not happening.”

Several fighters, including Sterling, have accused Caraway of trying to pick the most favorable route to the title. Shortly after his win over Wineland, he did turn down a bout with Urijah Faber, citing a broken rib he suffered in the fight and a pending family reunion.

But to those who think he should take any bout that’s offered, he questions the common sense of fighting without regard to his career.

“I believe there is some sort of business sense, and there are guys that are not even ranked, or ranked 15th, that are on 10-fight win streaks, really tough guys, and those guys do nothing for me,” Caraway said. “If I’m going to have just as tough a fight fighting a non-ranked guy, why would I do that? Why would I go backward? I’m not going going to be a stepping stone for anybody.”

With his higher ranking, Sterling, who recently re-signed with the UFC after a period of free agency, would actually be the one playing that role in the event of an unsuccessful meeting with Caraway. Still, he is apparently pushing for the fight, running an old play in combat sports by emasculating his potential opponent.

Caraway is happy to take the bout, but perhaps not for the reason Sterling would suspect.

“Is he basically saying women are less than us, or beneath us, or women are weak? Is he trying to (say) women are not strong or capable? I don’t know what his deal is or what he’s trying to do, but I don’t think that’s a smart move by him,” Caraway said.

“I don’t know what his deal is, but it’s not very classy to me, and that’s not where I’m trying to bring MMA. I’m not an insecure guy; obviously, I can’t be and be dating Miesha. All that stuff is feeble and weak attempt. That’s what he has, he’s going to play me because I’m dating a badass, beautiful girl that I’ve coached her entire career? I’m almost embarrassed for him.”

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