‘They messed up’… Former UFC champion left confused with UFC 310 fight placement as his fight is buried in the prelims

This weekend, Aljamain Sterling will finally make his second featherweight appearance at UFC 310, following his successful weight class debut at UFC 300.

After losing the UFC bantamweight title to Sean O'Malley at UFC 292, Aljamain Sterling ultimately made the decision to move up to 145 pounds in pursuit of the featherweight title.

At the historic UFC 300 event last April, 'Funkmaster' marked his debut in the weight class with an impressive victory over Calvin Kattar, immediately moving into the top 10 of the division.

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Aljamain Sterling Comments on UFC 310 Card Seating While Buried in Preliminaries

The former 135-pound champion was set to face Movsar Evloev in what was likely a number one contender's bout last October at UFC 307, but Sterling suffered a shoulder injury and pulled out of the fight.

Despite this, the promotion has moved the big featherweight fight to UFC 310, likely making a major impact at the top of the division.

However, with UFC 310 set to take place next weekend on December 7, the bout order has been released and shockingly, Sterling's fight against the undefeated Russian is buried in the preliminary stages of the event.

This isn't the first time since losing the title that Sterling has been featured on the prelim portion of an event, as his fight against Kattar also took place early on the night of UFC 300, but that card was significantly more stacked than UFC 310.

“I didn't know if I should have been offended by the placement on the fight card or the glass half full. I think this is the best way I try to look at everything in life,” Sterling said in a video on his YouTube channel.

“I get to fight earlier and finish earlier. Of course, I was a little confused by it. I think they have their rhyme or reason for what they do, the UFC brass, and that's what it is.

“At the end of the day, it's not my organization. I'm not in charge. I'm just going out there to compete, and it's up to me to go out and prove these guys wrong about me being a main card fighter. I think people are in for a really big surprise, and the UFC is going to realize that “we made a big mistake by not putting this on the agenda,” Sterling continued.

While “Funkmaster” is seemingly unfazed yet confused, the UFC's decision to put this on the prelims could have something to do with Dana White's assessment of Evloev's last fight against Arnold Allen, as the UFC CEO labeled it “ super boring' and one of the 'worst fights ever'.

The current UFC 310 match order as two former champions enter the prelims

Sterling isn't the only former champion set to appear on this Saturday's preliminary card, as former middleweight champion Chris Weidman is also scheduled for an early fight.

'The All-American' was scheduled to fight Eryk Anders at UFC 309 last November, but hours before the fight Anders pulled out due to food poisoning.

Weidman revealed shortly after that he was not given his full purse for weigh-in and being ready to fight, and instead was given the opportunity for a catchweight fight this Saturday.

Evloev vs Sterling won't even be the preliminary fight as that spot is currently occupied by Dominick Reyes and Anthony Smith.

Sterling and Evloev are currently set to clash in the second fight of the preliminary portion of the event, but the order of the fights is still subject to change.

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