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Aljamain Sterling

Featherweight · REAL v1.0 (registered) #1; v1.1 (shadow) #1

Descriptive profile. The resume rank is what has been earned; these statistics are context, not a prediction. A test on Oct 20, 2026 found that career statistics add nothing reliable to age, layoff and experience as predictors of the next result (experiments/REGISTER.md, EXP-2026-10-20-14).

Weight band 1-1: the 10th to 90th percentile of his position across weight vectors drawn near the 70/30 weights (the position does not depend on the weights). Rating 1,805, deviation 112: measured from 23 UFC bouts; a one-bout newcomer sits near 290.

Age 37 (born 1989-07-31) · Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) · Reach 71 in (180 cm) · Stance Orthodox · 190 days since last bout (2026-04-25) · Last five 3-2 · Streak W2

Why he is ranked here

Rating 1,805 is the division's highest below the champion; the ledger stands at +8.8 (+8.2 from quality wins, +0.7 from close losses to top-5 fighters; losses count for three years); 15 quality wins in 15 years, 12 over top-10 opponents, which makes him entrenched; no form penalty (3-2 last five). Score +1.55 = +0.80 (rating term, 70% weight) +0.75 (ledger term, 30% weight) -0.00 (form penalty); score order put him at #1.

TermValueDetail
Score+1.5570% rating term + 30% ledger term - form penalty
Rating term+0.80resume rating 1,805, scaled against the division's interdecile range
Ledger term+0.75quality ledger +8.8: +8.2 QW +0.7 proof -0.0 blowout -0.0 weak
Form penalty0.00last five 3-2
Quality wins, 15 years1512 over top-10 opponents, 14 over top-15; entrenched
Placementscore order #1v1.0 (registered)
Shadow board v1.1#1score +1.46; score order #1

Rules, weights and worked examples: methodology.

Last ten bouts

DateEventOpponentOpp. official rankResultMethodRoundModel p
2026-04-25UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. ZalalYoussef Zalal#7Wunanimous decision5 (5:00)67%
2025-08-23UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. ZhangBrian Ortega#5Wunanimous decision5 (5:00)77%
2024-12-07UFC 310: Pantoja vs. AsakuraMovsar Evloev#5Lunanimous decision3 (5:00)59%
2024-04-13UFC 300: Pereira vs. HillCalvin Kattar#8Wunanimous decision3 (5:00)75%
2023-08-19UFC 292: Sterling vs. O'Malley (title)Sean O'Malley#2LKO/TKO2 (0:51)66%
2023-05-06UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo (title)Henry CejudounrankedWsplit decision5 (5:00)77%
2022-10-22UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev (title)TJ Dillashaw#2WKO/TKO2 (3:44)71%
2022-04-09UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie (title)Petr Yan#1Wsplit decision5 (5:00)55%
2021-03-06UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya (title)Petr YanCWdisqualification4 (4:29)59%
2020-06-06UFC 250: Nunes vs. SpencerCory Sandhagen#4Wsubmission1 (1:28)59%

Opp. official rank = the UFC media-panel rank of the opponent on the date (C champion, #1 to #15, unranked; n/a before Feb 2013 or where no official board existed). Model p = the predictive model's pre-fight win chance for him (frozen performance-adjusted Elo; bouts before 2020 were in its tuning sample). Linked opponents have a profile.

Career statistics

Through 2026-10-31, UFC bouts only. Percentile = share of the 94 board fighters at Featherweight at or below this value; high is a position in the division, not a verdict.

Output
Significant strikes landed per minute4.26(57th percentile at Featherweight)
Significant strike accuracy53%(74th percentile at Featherweight)
Knockdowns scored per 15 minutes0.00(37th percentile at Featherweight)
Share of wins by finish33%(28th percentile at Featherweight)
Defence and damage
Significant strikes absorbed per minute2.15(13th percentile at Featherweight)
Significant strike defence59%(76th percentile at Featherweight)
Knockdowns suffered per 15 minutes0.23(50th percentile at Featherweight)
Significant strikes absorbed, career710(91st percentile at Featherweight)
KO/TKO losses2 (last 2023-08-19, 1,170 days ago)(96th percentile at Featherweight)
Submission losses0(77th percentile at Featherweight)
KO/TKO losses per bout over 10 years, each weighted down by the finisher's danger0.054(53rd percentile at Featherweight)
Grappling
Takedowns landed per 15 minutes2.54(78th percentile at Featherweight)
Takedown defence45%(22nd percentile at Featherweight)
Share of cage time in control33%(87th percentile at Featherweight)
Share of significant strikes landed in the clinch or on the ground33%(84th percentile at Featherweight)
Stylewrestler (7.9 takedown attempts per 15 min; 33% control)
Career stage
Age37.3(88th percentile at Featherweight)
Age at UFC debut24.6(18th percentile at Featherweight)
Years since UFC debut12.7(98th percentile at Featherweight)
UFC bouts23(99th percentile at Featherweight)
Cage time, minutes331(100th percentile at Featherweight)
Bouts per year, last three years1.3(50th percentile at Featherweight)
Days since last bout190(70th percentile at Featherweight)

Board position since Oct 2023

C24681020252026Oct 2023Oct 20262023-10-06: #1, Bantamweight2023-10-13: #1, Bantamweight2023-10-20: #1, Bantamweight2023-11-03: #1, Bantamweight2023-11-10: #1, Bantamweight2023-11-17: #1, Bantamweight2023-12-01: #1, Bantamweight2023-12-08: #1, Bantamweight2023-12-15: #1, Bantamweight2024-01-12: #1, Bantamweight2024-01-19: #1, Bantamweight2024-02-02: #1, Bantamweight2024-02-09: #1, Bantamweight2024-02-16: #1, Bantamweight2024-02-23: #1, Bantamweight2024-03-01: #1, Bantamweight2024-03-08: #1, Bantamweight2024-03-15: #1, Bantamweight2024-03-22: #1, Bantamweight2024-03-29: #1, Bantamweight2024-04-05: #1, Bantamweight2024-04-12: #1, Bantamweight2024-04-26: #1, Bantamweight2024-05-03: #1, Bantamweight2024-05-10: #1, Bantamweight2024-05-17: #1, Bantamweight2024-05-31: #1, Bantamweight2024-06-07: #1, Bantamweight2024-06-14: #1, Bantamweight2024-06-21: #1, Bantamweight2024-06-28: #1, Bantamweight2024-07-12: #1, Bantamweight2024-07-19: #1, Bantamweight2024-07-26: #1, Bantamweight2024-08-02: #1, Bantamweight2024-08-09: #2, Bantamweight2024-08-16: #2, Bantamweight2024-08-23: #2, Bantamweight2024-09-06: #2, Bantamweight2024-09-13: #2, Bantamweight2024-09-27: #3, Bantamweight2024-10-04: #3, Bantamweight2024-10-11: #3, Bantamweight2024-10-18: #3, Bantamweight2024-10-25: #3, Bantamweight2024-11-01: #3, Bantamweight2024-11-08: #3, Bantamweight2024-11-15: #3, Bantamweight2024-11-22: #3, Bantamweight2024-12-06: #1, Bantamweight2024-12-13: #2, Featherweight2025-01-10: #2, Featherweight2025-01-17: #2, Featherweight2025-01-31: #2, Featherweight2025-02-07: #2, Featherweight2025-02-14: #2, Featherweight2025-02-21: #2, Featherweight2025-02-28: #2, Featherweight2025-03-07: #2, Featherweight2025-03-14: #2, Featherweight2025-03-21: #2, Featherweight2025-03-28: #2, Featherweight2025-04-04: #2, Featherweight2025-04-11: #2, Featherweight2025-04-25: #3, Featherweight2025-05-02: #3, Featherweight2025-05-09: #3, Featherweight2025-05-16: #3, Featherweight2025-05-30: #3, Featherweight2025-06-06: #3, Featherweight2025-06-13: #3, Featherweight2025-06-20: #3, Featherweight2025-06-27: #3, Featherweight2025-07-11: #2, Featherweight2025-07-18: #2, Featherweight2025-07-25: #3, Featherweight2025-08-01: #3, Featherweight2025-08-08: #3, Featherweight2025-08-15: #3, Featherweight2025-08-22: #3, Featherweight2025-09-05: #3, Featherweight2025-09-12: #3, Featherweight2025-09-26: #3, Featherweight2025-10-03: #3, Featherweight2025-10-10: #3, Featherweight2025-10-17: #3, Featherweight2025-10-24: #3, Featherweight2025-10-31: #3, Featherweight2025-11-07: #3, Featherweight2025-11-14: #3, Featherweight2025-11-21: #3, Featherweight2025-12-05: #3, Featherweight2025-12-12: #2, Featherweight2026-01-23: #2, Featherweight2026-01-30: #2, Featherweight2026-02-06: #2, Featherweight2026-02-20: #2, Featherweight2026-02-27: #2, Featherweight2026-03-06: #2, Featherweight2026-03-13: #1, Featherweight2026-03-20: #1, Featherweight2026-03-27: #1, Featherweight2026-04-03: #1, Featherweight2026-04-10: #1, Featherweight2026-04-17: #1, Featherweight2026-04-24: #1, Featherweight2026-05-01: #1, Featherweight2026-05-08: #1, Featherweight2026-05-15: #1, Featherweight2026-05-29: #1, Featherweight2026-06-05: #1, Featherweight2026-06-13: #1, Featherweight2026-06-19: #1, Featherweight2026-06-26: #1, Featherweight2026-07-10: #1, Featherweight2026-07-17: #1, Featherweight2026-07-24: #1, Featherweight2026-07-31: #1, Featherweight2026-08-07: #1, Featherweight2026-08-14: #1, Featherweight2026-08-21: #1, Featherweight2026-08-28: #1, Featherweight2026-09-04: #1, Featherweight2026-09-11: #1, Featherweight2026-09-18: #1, Featherweight2026-09-25: #1, Featherweight2026-09-26: #1, Featherweight2026-10-03: #1, Featherweight2026-10-10: #1, Featherweight2026-10-17: #1, Featherweight2026-10-24: #1, Featherweight2026-10-31: #1, Featherweight#1

Position on the registered v1.0 board at each weekly snapshot (C = title holder or reserved, drawn at the top; lower is better). Listed at Bantamweight, then Featherweight over this period.

Predictive rating by bout

1,5001,6001,7001,8001,9002017201920212023Feb 2014Oct 20262014-02-22: 1,556 (W vs Cody Gibson)2014-07-16: 1,640 (W vs Hugo Viana)2015-04-18: 1,679 (W vs Takeya Mizugaki)2015-12-10: 1,712 (W vs Johnny Eduardo)2016-05-29: 1,689 (L vs Bryan Caraway)2017-01-28: 1,688 (L vs Raphael Assuncao)2017-04-15: 1,709 (W vs Augusto Mendes)2017-07-29: 1,751 (W vs Renan Barao)2017-12-09: 1,655 (L vs Marlon Moraes)2018-04-21: 1,710 (W vs Brett Johns)2018-09-08: 1,740 (W vs Cody Stamann)2019-02-17: 1,783 (W vs Jimmie Rivera)2019-06-08: 1,830 (W vs Pedro Munhoz)2020-06-06: 1,870 (W vs Cory Sandhagen)2021-03-06: 1,860 (W vs Petr Yan)2022-04-09: 1,854 (W vs Petr Yan)2022-10-22: 1,890 (W vs TJ Dillashaw)2023-05-06: 1,884 (W vs Henry Cejudo)2023-08-19: 1,828 (L vs Sean O'Malley)2024-04-13: 1,845 (W vs Calvin Kattar)2024-12-07: 1,833 (L vs Movsar Evloev)2025-08-23: 1,843 (W vs Brian Ortega)2026-04-25: 1,846 (W vs Youssef Zalal)1,846

Rating after each UFC bout from the frozen predictive model (performance-adjusted Elo, data/processed/elo_history.csv; a debut starts at 1,500). The resume rating's history is not stored, so this is the predictive line, which is a different number from the resume rating in the header.

Trajectory

Recent performances run about 49 points behind the rating: fighters this age typically run 68 points behind their rating, and his own recent results recover 19 of those points.

ComponentPointsMeaning
Age component-68what fighters aged 37.3 typically run relative to their rating (population curve, all UFC bouts since 2011)
Own recent results+19his recency-weighted mean and trend over 23 bouts, shrunk toward zero; trend -0 points a year
Combined-49the rating's likely distance from his current performance level, in rating points
Readingbehind ratingahead of, in line with (within 30 points), or behind the rating

Performance relative to the rating, by age

-1.0-0.5+0.0+0.5+1.024262830323436382014-02-22 (age 24.6): W vs Cody Gibson, residual +0.212014-07-16 (age 25.0): W vs Hugo Viana, residual +0.532015-04-18 (age 25.7): W vs Takeya Mizugaki, residual +0.542015-12-10 (age 26.4): W vs Johnny Eduardo, residual +0.342016-05-29 (age 26.8): L vs Bryan Caraway, residual -0.032017-01-28 (age 27.5): L vs Raphael Assuncao, residual +0.042017-04-15 (age 27.7): W vs Augusto Mendes, residual -0.022017-07-29 (age 28.0): W vs Renan Barao, residual +0.382017-12-09 (age 28.4): L vs Marlon Moraes, residual -0.662018-04-21 (age 28.7): W vs Brett Johns, residual +0.352018-09-08 (age 29.1): W vs Cody Stamann, residual +0.352019-02-17 (age 29.5): W vs Jimmie Rivera, residual +0.412019-06-08 (age 29.9): W vs Pedro Munhoz, residual +0.362020-06-06 (age 30.9): W vs Cory Sandhagen, residual +0.382021-03-06 (age 31.6): W vs Petr Yan, residual -0.042022-04-09 (age 32.7): W vs Petr Yan, residual -0.042022-10-22 (age 33.2): W vs TJ Dillashaw, residual +0.512023-05-06 (age 33.8): W vs Henry Cejudo, residual -0.012023-08-19 (age 34.1): L vs Sean O'Malley, residual -0.712024-04-13 (age 34.7): W vs Calvin Kattar, residual +0.302024-12-07 (age 35.4): L vs Movsar Evloev, residual -0.152025-08-23 (age 36.1): W vs Brian Ortega, residual +0.352026-04-25 (age 36.7): W vs Youssef Zalal, residual +0.11-0.07

Each dot is one decided UFC bout at his age then: the performance score minus the rating's expectation, on the score's own scale from -1 to +1 (filled = win, hollow = loss; above zero is better than the rating implied; a finish as a slight favourite is about +0.45). The dashed line is the population curve for all fighters; the solid line is this fighter's own fitted level and trend as of the data date, weighted toward recent bouts. One unit sustained over many bouts corresponds to about 695 rating points; a single bout's residual is noisy.

Held-out evidence (walk-forward 2016 to 2026, EXP-2026-10-21-01): the age curve held in every test year; the individual component is a weak signal (correlation 0.06 with the next bout's residual; among fighters aged 33 or over, the lowest predicted quartile won 38% of next bouts against 53% expected, the highest 48% against 52%) and adds nothing to bout prediction beyond the shadow model. No board uses any of it: the rankings answer who has earned the place, not who wins next (EXP-2026-10-20-09). Method: src/mmalab/decline.py; settings: config/decline.yaml (expectation from the resume rating; one unit of residual is about 695 rating points).

Context flags

Descriptive only. Each line is a population fact about fighters like him, not a forecast for him; the register entries hold the measurements.

REAL v1.0 (registered method) · build c166ee8 · data through 2026-10-31 · page built 2026-11-06 · changelog. Independent fan research project built on public UFCStats data. Not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by UFC, Zuffa, LLC, TKO Group Holdings, or any athlete. All trademarks belong to their owners and are used only to identify athletes and events.