The UFC announced Aljamain Sterling‘s next fight against rising contender Kevin Vallejos. On November 21, the two fighters will collide in an exhilarating showdown during the promotion’s second visit to Qatar. But despite ‘Funkmaster’s’ willingness to accept a fight against an up-and-comer, fans aren’t too thrilled about the UFC’s matchmaking for the former champion.

In a recent interview on the Ariel Helwani show, Sterling revealed the UFC gave him only an hour to decide on fighting Vallejos in Qatar, to which he said “yes” without even consulting his team. 

“I was told I had an hour to give an answer, and I had just gotten off the mats,” Sterling said. “I didn’t even get a chance to talk to my team. I guess the negotiations were already in the works, and the opportunity would have gone to someone else. 

“These things move quickly. It was a situation where they had to make an announcement for the card, and it just happened that I was training at that time. Luckily, it worked out because I did want to fight one more time before this year was up.” 

Aljamain Sterling has not complained about taking the fight against Vallejos within a one-hour negotiation window. However, it appears Sterling accepted a bout against a dangerous opponent in such a short time for the first time in his career.

Plus, this would be the second time the former UFC champ would face someone much lower ranked than him.

‘Funkmaster’ was ranked number 05 in the featherweight division when he defeated number 07-ranked Youssef Zalal at the UFC Fight Night event in April. But even after defeating a rising contender, the former UFC bantamweight champion didn’t get someone ranked above him. Instead, the promotion booked number 04-ranked Sterling against number 10-ranked Vallejos.

Revealing further details about the matchmaking, Sterling stated the UFC lacked a better matchup for him and initially offered Aaron Pico. However, Sterling turned down the fight, deeming it better to give the opportunity to Vallejos, who he feels has done much better in the UFC than the former Bellator fighter. 

“A lot of people think I just want to sit on the sidelines,” Sterling added. “It’s not even that. There are just no matchups. I was offered the Pico fight, but what the f—k does that fight do for me? The guy’s 1-1. Vallejos makes way more sense. Some people will say I ducked or dodged Pico because they think he’s the better wrestler.” 

“I think I’m the best wrestler in the division and probably one of the best — if not the best — in UFC. So, if you think I’m ducking Pico, no. Why am I rewarding him? I’d much rather give the reward to the guy who’s been here longer and beaten better guys.”    

For Sterling, a win over the 24-year-old Argentine would prove his mettle against much younger and hungrier contenders. But, truth be told, a win over Vallejos does not guarantee a title shot, which Sterling has been chasing for a while.

Cognizant of Sterling’s position, fans slammed the UFC for making the former champ fight a lower-ranked opponent once again, and they did not mince words in calling the promotion out.

Fans slam UFC for making Aljamain Sterling accept Kevin Vallejos fight 

One fan quickly chimed in and wrote, “The UFC has really mistreated Aljo.”

Following this, a different fan commented more bluntly, “Why does the UFC genuinely hate him? Honestly, if he wins this fight and Volk defends, they should fight next. You have the featherweight goat Vs the almost bantamweight goat. It’s weird he has top wins at featherweight but is getting lower-ranked guys each time.”

Joining the backlash, another user wrote, “The UFC has f—ed Aljo over so many times. ZUFFA fighters….take note.”

Well, this isn’t the first time Aljamain Sterling has commented on the UFC’s questionable matchmaking. Before facing Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 in 2023, Sterling spoke of his pre-existing injuries on his YouTube channel. He wasn’t sure about an imminent title defense. However, he ended up accepting the matchup and lost the belt via second-round TKO.

After the loss, Sterling went public with his frustrations over fighting O’Malley while injured, and he clearly wasn’t happy with the promotion.

Another fan remarked about Sterling’s fight against Jean Silva, “Could have made him fight Jean in December, but UFC hate him for some reason.”

Sterling has already called out Jean Silva after the Brazilian recently beat Jose Delgado at UFC Noche on September 12, 2026, via third-round submission. But the UFC ignored the fight and eventually settled on Kevin Vallejos.

For a number four-ranked Sterling, facing number five Jean Silva would have made better sense in terms of both fighters’ title implications.

Now, ‘Funkmaster’s’ position is especially difficult as he welcomes a number 10-ranked opponent. Even if he beats Vallejos, he would be defeating a fighter much lower down the rankings. If Silva scores a victory over someone like number three-ranked featherweight Lerone Murphy, he would leapfrog Sterling to get the title shot.

Perhaps noting that, another fan wrote, “Dana just trying to get Aljo to quit with these matchups 😂.”

That said, Aljamain Sterling’s next task is simple: keep his win streak alive by beating Kevin Vallejos, because any other result would make his path back to the title all the more difficult.