UFC 300: Aljamain Sterling Talks Fighter Fashion, Culture Kings Capsule, & More (Exclusive)
Sterling says racking up "style points" at UFC 300 isn't going to be easy.
Aljamain Sterling is suiting up for his featherweight debut at UFC 300.
The former UFC Bantamweight Champion has never been one to shy away from his style, whether that's his unorthodox wrestling game that earned him the nickname "Funkmaster" or his flashy fashion outside of the Octagon.
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Ahead of fighting top contender Calvin Kattar this weekend, Sterling spoke to SI's MMA Knockout about fashion in the fight game as Culture Kings joins forces with the UFC to release a special UFC 300 capsule.
"I feel like I like to switch it up a little bit," Sterling said of his fashion sense. "Sometimes I'm wearing the suits, the button ups, I got a lot of tailored stuff. It just fits right a little bit better than the casual just straight off the rack. And then of course, I like the urban mix where I kind of just dressed down and kind of brings me back to my roots. My old school days where I was back in high school and everybody was trying to kind of be somewhat of the fly guy."
As for Culture Kings' collaboration with the UFC, Sterling likes what he sees from the premier streetwear brand and what they're bringing out for the biggest fight card of the decade in UFC 300.
"I think it's cool to see. I think people kind of associate fighting with like just rough things sometimes. I think you're starting to see more of the athletes starting to dress the part, dress to their personas and things like that, characters. I think you're starting to see them kind of having their own swag and showing that to the world and I think that's what it's all about," Sterling said.
"So I think Culture Kings is taking the right steps to make that blend and to show people that, yeah, it's fighting, but fighting could be cool, it could be urban, and I think it's for everybody. Obviously, not saying go out and just beat people up, but within us, the realm of where it's safe and approved, I think it's more than, okay. So definitely appreciate Culture Kings always being down with the UFC and supporting the cause."
"These new [jackets] for UFC 300 man, they're badass the way he put it all together, the details, and it's not like something you could just wear once," Sterling said. "I feel like you could wear it more than once if you want to kind of a thing. Not like special occasions only, even though it's probably better for that, but it's a cool jacket. Like I wouldn't mind wearing that, like one of my go-to jackets to go out with."
Showing out inside and outside of Octagon, Aljamain Sterling ranks his top 3 "best dressed" fighters in the UFC today.
"It's hard to ignore Conor [McGregor]," Sterling continued. "Conor does a great job from just being dialed in all the time. Michael Chandler is pretty good as well. And then another one, I'm not even trying to include myself in that. Who else has got really good fashion sense? Izzy [Israel Adesanya] does [a good job]... Kamaru Usman.
Kamaru Usman at Culture Kings in Las Vegas, Nevada (Apr. 12, 2024)
Christopher De Santiago
"[Usman] has got a cool little fashion sense, and I think he has a stylist that helps prep his stuff. I actually do all my stuff myself. It would be kind of cool to have a stylist kind of give it a little bit of extra love. But yeah, I think I do a decent job of where I'm at right now. But, those are my three."
Several fighters stand out from the UFC 300 line-up and that's hard to do with so many box-office stars on the card. Alex Pereira, Zhang Weili, Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje all recieved custom fight trunks that go along with their style.
Unfortunately for him, Aljamain Sterling was not included in the conversation. But, who knows? Perhaps a "style points" win UFC 300 will allow Sterling to express himself even more inside the Octagon in something different than the uniform fight kits everybody else finds themselves in.
Although, Sterling knows it'll be a hard task to take out a top-ranked contender in Calvin Kattar.
"If I had known everybody was getting something like that, I would've put a request in. I don't even know what I would've wanted, but I would've put in a request. I've seen some of the new shorts and trunks and they look pretty badass, so I'm excited to see what those look like on fight night. I saw some of the pictures, but I think it's cool," Sterling continued. "It gives you more of a unique persona, a different feel from just the casual and usual thing that we see every single time we step into the cage."
"It's gonna be hard to steal the show," Sterling said of his next fight. "I'm gonna have to do something electrifying, get the crowd super pumped up, and something like memorable. It's not gonna be easy to do, but I think I got some cool little tricks. And of course, it, it depends on how you do it. You get the style points, it ain't gonna be easy. Calvin Kattar's a dog, so we'll see what I can do. I'm not really trying to look past him at all. I just gotta do my best and I think if the best Aljamain Sterling shows up, I think I get my hand raised."
Catch Aljamain Sterling vs. Calvin Kattar tonight at UFC 300. If you can't watch the action live, Sports Illustrated's MMA Knockout has you covered with live results and video highlights throughout the night.
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