"I got a couple million in the bank, why am I still doing this?" - Aljamain Sterling on doubts about UFC future post achieving financial security
Aljamain Sterling had a dominant performance in his featherweight debut, as he defeated Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision on the preliminary card of UFC 300, with all three judges awarding him all three rounds. The former bantamweight champion recently revealed that his financial security has led him to question his future in mixed martial arts.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, 'Funk Master' stated:
"I keep it real, man. I don't like - some of these guys, they try to make it like a show pretending like, 'oh, I'm so bulletproof this' and like, we all have these thoughts that go through our head and it's just like, 'what the heck am I still doing here? I got a couple million in the bank. Why am I still doing this?' You know what I mean? So these thoughts happen. They're normal. But I love competing and I think that's what drives me to want to keep going and trying to achieve bigger and greater things."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments on questioning retirement below:
Sterling added that he likely would have retired if he was badly defeated by Kattar at UFC 300, noting that nobody knew that walking away was on his mind. Instead, the former bantamweight champion, who will enter the featherweight rankings when the next rendition is released, is eyeing a bout with Brian Ortega.
Aljamain Sterling grateful for Dana White praise following UFC 300
Aljamain Sterling and Dana White have not always seen eye-to-eye publicly. The former bantamweight champion weighed in on receiving praise from the UFC President and CEO following his UFC 300 victory over Calvin Kattar during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, stating:
"When I heard that he made some good comments and what not - someone played me a clip and [he] said something like, 'it's not easy to go up a weight class'. I didn't expect him to say anything. He could've easily just been like, 'well, we all know how a Sterling fight goes'. He could've easily said that and then people would've just s**t all over me again, but I thank him for that. That was cool. That's all I've ever wanted for him to kind of, at least, make me somewhat of an ally."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments on Dana White below:
Sterling added that the UFC fanbase will repeat White's comments, while noting that he doesn't believe the promotional frontman has ever said anything maliciously about him. He reiterated his gratitude for the comments agreeing that his performance was dominant.