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Aljamain Sterling "Funk Master"

Active #3 featherweight · age 36 · Orthodox · 5'7" 170 cm · 135 lb 61 kg · reach 71" 180 cm
At a glance
  • 2 successful title defenses
  • UFC veteran since 2014
Elo rating
1670
Global Elo 1725 ±43
Rank
#3
top 3% of division
UFC record
17-5-0
KO 2 · Sub 4 · Dec 11
Streak
+2
Δ90d +11 · Δ1y +25
Last fight
Apr 25, 2026
Win by Decision · R5
Career at a glance
Octagon time
5h 11m
Avg fight time
14:09
Title fights
3-1
Bonuses
2
Fights per year
1.8
Ground control
1h 46m
Since last fight
2mo

Honest Elo history

22 fights · tap & drag
Feb 22, 2014 — W vs Cody Gibson Δ+29Jul 16, 2014 — W vs Hugo Viana Δ+35Apr 18, 2015 — W vs Takeya Mizugaki Δ+34Dec 10, 2015 — W vs Johnny Eduardo Δ+27May 29, 2016 — L vs Bryan Caraway Δ-31Jan 28, 2017 — L vs Raphael Assuncao Δ-15Apr 15, 2017 — W vs Augusto Mendes Δ+13Jul 29, 2017 — W vs Renan Barao Δ+18Dec 9, 2017 — L vs Marlon Moraes Δ-23Apr 21, 2018 — W vs Brett Johns Δ+16Sep 8, 2018 — W vs Cody Stamann Δ+18Feb 17, 2019 — W vs Jimmie Rivera Δ+17Jun 8, 2019 — W vs Pedro Munhoz Δ+16Jun 6, 2020 — W vs Cory Sandhagen Δ+19Apr 9, 2022 — W vs Petr Yan Δ+22Oct 22, 2022 — W vs TJ Dillashaw Δ+23May 6, 2023 — W vs Henry Cejudo Δ+19Aug 19, 2023 — L vs Sean O'Malley Δ-29Apr 13, 2024 — W vs Calvin Kattar Δ+11Dec 7, 2024 — L vs Movsar Evloev Δ-17Aug 23, 2025 — W vs Brian Ortega Δ+14Apr 25, 2026 — W vs Youssef Zalal Δ+11 1450150015501600165017001750 201620182020202220242026 [{"i":0,"x":90,"y":385.5,"elo":1473,"date":"2014-02-22","opp":"Cody Gibson","result":"W","delta":29},{"i":1,"x":113.3,"y":347.9,"elo":1508,"date":"2014-07-16","opp":"Hugo Viana","result":"W","delta":35},{"i":2,"x":158,"y":311.7,"elo":1542,"date":"2015-04-18","opp":"Takeya Mizugaki","result":"W","delta":34},{"i":3,"x":196.3,"y":283.1,"elo":1569,"date":"2015-12-10","opp":"Johnny Eduardo","result":"W","delta":27},{"i":4,"x":224,"y":316.1,"elo":1538,"date":"2016-05-29","opp":"Bryan Caraway","result":"L","delta":-31},{"i":5,"x":263.5,"y":331.9,"elo":1523,"date":"2017-01-28","opp":"Raphael Assuncao","result":"L","delta":-15},{"i":6,"x":276,"y":318.4,"elo":1536,"date":"2017-04-15","opp":"Augusto Mendes","result":"W","delta":13},{"i":7,"x":293,"y":299.1,"elo":1554,"date":"2017-07-29","opp":"Renan Barao","result":"W","delta":18},{"i":8,"x":314.5,"y":323.7,"elo":1531,"date":"2017-12-09","opp":"Marlon Moraes","result":"L","delta":-23},{"i":9,"x":336,"y":306.6,"elo":1547,"date":"2018-04-21","opp":"Brett Johns","result":"W","delta":16},{"i":10,"x":358.7,"y":287.7,"elo":1565,"date":"2018-09-08","opp":"Cody Stamann","result":"W","delta":18},{"i":11,"x":385,"y":269.7,"elo":1582,"date":"2019-02-17","opp":"Jimmie Rivera","result":"W","delta":17},{"i":12,"x":402.9,"y":253.1,"elo":1597,"date":"2019-06-08","opp":"Pedro Munhoz","result":"W","delta":16},{"i":13,"x":461.9,"y":233,"elo":1616,"date":"2020-06-06","opp":"Cory Sandhagen","result":"W","delta":19},{"i":14,"x":570.8,"y":209.6,"elo":1638,"date":"2022-04-09","opp":"Petr Yan","result":"W","delta":22},{"i":15,"x":602.5,"y":184.7,"elo":1661,"date":"2022-10-22","opp":"TJ Dillashaw","result":"W","delta":23},{"i":16,"x":634.3,"y":164.2,"elo":1680,"date":"2023-05-06","opp":"Henry Cejudo","result":"W","delta":19},{"i":17,"x":651.3,"y":195.3,"elo":1651,"date":"2023-08-19","opp":"Sean O'Malley","result":"L","delta":-29},{"i":18,"x":689.8,"y":183.2,"elo":1663,"date":"2024-04-13","opp":"Calvin Kattar","result":"W","delta":11},{"i":19,"x":728.4,"y":201.9,"elo":1645,"date":"2024-12-07","opp":"Movsar Evloev","result":"L","delta":-17},{"i":20,"x":770.3,"y":187.2,"elo":1659,"date":"2025-08-23","opp":"Brian Ortega","result":"W","delta":14},{"i":21,"x":810,"y":175.9,"elo":1670,"date":"2026-04-25","opp":"Youssef Zalal","result":"W","delta":11}]

Last fights

Elo-based expectation · not betting advice
Date Opponent Result Δ Elo
Apr 25, 2026 Youssef Zalal W +11
Aug 23, 2025 Brian Ortega W +14
Dec 7, 2024 Movsar Evloev L -17
Apr 13, 2024 Calvin Kattar W +11
Aug 19, 2023 Sean O'Malley L -29

Performance

SLpM Significant Strikes Landed per Minute. Higher = busier striker.
Strikes Landed
L1L3L5
Str Acc Striking accuracy: significant strikes landed / attempted. Higher = more efficient striker.
Strike Accuracy
L1L3L5
SApM Significant Strikes Absorbed per Minute. How often opponents land on this fighter. Lower is better.
Strikes Absorbed
L1L3L5
Str Def Share of opponent’s significant strike attempts that miss or are blocked. Higher is better.
Striking Defense
L1L3L5
TD / 15 min Takedowns landed per 15 minutes (one full 3-round fight). Measures wrestling output.
Takedowns
L1L3L5
TD Acc Takedowns landed / attempted. Higher = cleaner entries.
Takedown Accuracy
L1L3L5
TD Def Share of opponent takedown attempts stuffed. Higher = harder to put on the mat.
Takedown Defense
L1L3L5
Sub / 15 min Submission attempts per 15 minutes. Counts attempts, not just finishes — a proxy for grappling aggression.
Submission Attempts
L1L3L5
Ctrl / 15 min Control time in seconds per 15 minutes. Time in dominant grappling positions. 240 = 4 min, the realistic high-end across divisions.
Control Time (sec)
L1L3L5
KD / 15 min Knockdowns landed per 15 minutes. Counts every flash KD even if the fight continued — measures stopping power across all rounds, not just finishes.
Knockdowns
L1L3L5
Above division avg (intensity ∝ how far)
Near avg (±10%)
Below division avg

Finishes

How wins come Finish rate = (KO + Submission wins) / total UFC wins. Measures how often this fighter closes the show before the scorecards.
35%
6 / 17
Finish rate
KO
2
12% of wins
SUB
4
24% of wins
DEC
11
65% of wins
KO: 2 (12%) 2 Sub: 4 (24%) 4 Dec: 11 (65%) 11
Finishes by round
6 total
R1
1 17%
R2
3 50%
R3
2 33%
R4
R5

Striking profile

Where significant strikes land — by target zone and by position. 1310 landed total · career

Targets head · body · leg
51% Head
  • Head 51%
  • Body 31%
  • Leg 19%
Positions distance · clinch · ground
66% Distance
  • Distance 66%
  • Clinch 15%
  • Ground 19%

Durability

How they're beaten How fights end AGAINST this fighter. Finished-against rate = (times KO'd + submitted) / total UFC losses. A low rate means they rarely get stopped.
40%
of losses by finish
2 of 5
2 KO/TKO 0 Sub 3 Dec Never submitted

Strength of schedule in UFC

Avg opp Elo (last 5) Average Elo rating of the last 5 opponents this fighter faced. A proxy for schedule difficulty — 1700+ is elite-level competition, 1500 is a UFC average opponent.
1635
Contender level
Quality wins (1600+) Wins over opponents rated 1600+ Elo at the time of the fight — clearly above the ~1500 UFC average, contender tier. A count of genuine quality results, not record-padding.
9
of 17 UFC wins
Toughest win The highest-rated opponent this fighter has a win over, by that opponent's Elo at fight time.
Petr Yan
Elo 1706 at fight time
Expected wins How many wins an average fighter would be expected to have against this exact schedule, based on pre-fight Elo win probabilities. The line below shows whether this fighter is over- or under-performing their matchups.
11.7
+5.3 wins above what this schedule implies
Opponent Elo over career · 22 UFC fights, oldest → newest
1500
1593
Notable wins
Petr Yan 1706 Henry Cejudo 1703 TJ Dillashaw 1699 Cory Sandhagen 1660 Brian Ortega 1654 Jimmie Rivera 1638

Top featherweight

See full rankings →
Alexander Volkanovski C
#1 · Elo 1697
Movsar Evloev
#2 · Elo 1693
Lerone Murphy
#4 · Elo 1649
Arnold Allen
#5 · Elo 1635
Jean Silva
#6 · Elo 1619
Source Raw fight data and per-bout statistics come from Aljamain Sterling on UFCStats →. Elo rating, uncertainty bands, and division-relative analytics computed by HonestElo — not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.