"Fight camp ain't starting until these guys pay up" - Aljamain Sterling pushing UFC to offer him more money, pays homage to haters by calling himself 'paper champ'

Aljamain Sterling [Images via @funkmastermma on Instagram]

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has suggested that he won’t finalize the contract for his next fight until the UFC gives him a pay raise. Sterling also paid homage to his haters by referring to himself as "paper champ."

After Sterling captured the UFC bantamweight title with a controversial disqualification win over Petr Yan last March, many of his detractors labeled him "paper champ." However, ‘Funk Master’ turned the tables in April this year, beating Yan via split decision and successfully unifying the bantamweight titles.

It was recently revealed that the UFC is targeting a fight between Sterling and T.J. Dillashaw next at UFC 279 on September 10. Sterling later addressed the same and indicated that he hasn’t signed a contract to fight Dillashaw and won’t sign one until he’s paid more money.

A bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw is being targeted for UFC 279 on Sept. 10, sources confirmed with @marcraimondi.

First reported by MMA Junkie, and location is to be determined. https://t.co/HBNACRzwD3

In the latest video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sterling spoke about his fight camp for the potential UFC 279 matchup and stated:

“We’re slowly building back up into fight shape before fight camp, so we’re not coming into fight camp all out of shape, and that’s where injuries can happen.”

“We might see a delay in the cardiovascular activity, which for a five-round fight, you’ve gotta be in shape. So, you’ve gotta make sure you’re start slowly building, getting ready to hit the ground running when fight camp actually starts. But fight camp ain’t starting until these guys pay up. So, show me the money. ‘Paper champ,’ baby, ‘cause I’m making paper. So, pay up.”

Watch Aljamain Sterling urge the UFC to pay him more at 1:30 of the video below:

Ali Abdelaziz makes a bold prediction for Aljamain Sterling’s potential fight against T.J. Dillashaw

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz is known for being an incredibly vocal supporter of his clients, whether in the real world or the virtual world, via social media. That said, at times, Abdelaziz also tweets in support of fighters he doesn’t currently manage, including the likes of UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev and UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.

Intriguingly, Abdelaziz recently weighed in on the possible Sterling-Dillashaw matchup and predicted that ‘Funk Master’ will dominate former UFC bantamweight champion Dillashaw:

“@funkmasterMMA Will dominate TJ save this tweet”

@funkmasterMMA Will dominate TJ save this tweet

Aljamain Sterling has claimed that he considers both T.J. Dillashaw and former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo as contenders he could face in his next fight. Sterling has insinuated that he’s willing to face any big-name fighters, including Dillashaw and Cejudo, provided that he gets paid more money by the UFC.

It depends if Henry steps up to the plate or not. Where you at you little munchkin?! twitter.com/mmajunkie/stat…