Bizarre Response Gets Diego Lopes in Trouble as Aljamain Sterling Calls Out UFC Featherweight Star

Ilia Topuria is out of the featherweight division, and new title contenders have been decided. Enter Aljamain Sterling. For the former bantamweight champ, it’s not about his own title aspirations. Nope, this time, he’s questioning UFC featherweight contender Diego Lopes on what exactly he finds so funny. What started as a pretty reasonable take from Sterling quickly turned into a social media head-scratcher. The UFC 314 title shot contender fired back with… laughing emojis? That’s right, just a row of chuckling faces, leaving Sterling (and honestly, the rest of us) wondering what exactly the joke is.

“Definitely should’ve been Movsar but of course, no fighter in their rightful mind, will ever turn down a title shot because they think ‘it’s the right thing to do’, so that someone more deserving gets it,” ‘Funkmaster’ wrote on X, making his point clear that Movsar Evloev was the true featherweight title contender. And the #3 featherweight contender, instead of crafting a witty response, just went full emoji mode. That’s when Sterling decided to double down, “What’s the joke? You got the title shot. Why would you turn it down? Help me understand what’s so funny here? Lol I’m confused Diego… help a brother out amigo.”

Oh, but it gets better. Sterling isn’t new to this whole “right thing to do” battle cry. Flashback to 2020, and we had him practically begging UFC boss Dana White to hand him a title shot against the then-bantamweight champ Petr Yan. ‘Funkmaster’ was on a tear, finishing Cory Sandhagen in the first round like it was a warm-up drill, yet the UFC head honcho remained as hesitant as someone staring at a sushi conveyor belt, unsure of what to grab.

“Honestly, I don’t know what Dana’s waiting for,” Sterling vented at the time. “Maybe he forgot how great the performance was and how quick it was, so it’s hard to remember, but I’ve got the camera, I’ve got the film, and he said I was the next guy.”

Well, he eventually got his wish. The New Yorker faced Yan at UFC 259 and won the title, but not without controversy. The fight ended in disqualification after ‘No Mercy’ landed an illegal knee, making Sterling the first UFC champion to win via DQ. Of course, that wasn’t the end of it. The two ran it back at UFC 273, and this time, ‘Funkmaster’ left no doubts, securing a decision win and solidifying his reign as bantamweight champion. So here we are again, with Sterling fighting for what he sees as fairness in the UFC.

An Aljamain Sterling history of doing the “Right Thing”?

The UFC matchmaking can be as chaotic as a toddler let loose in a candy store, grabbing whatever looks the shiniest. Rankings? Merit? Yeah, sometimes they matter. Other times, not so much.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Aljamain Sterling’s latest training buddy is none other than Alexander Volkanovski, the guy who’s about to face Lopes at UFC 314. Sterling and ‘The Great’ were once on a collision course, with Aljo eyeing a move to 145 to fight him. That never happened, and instead, they’re now trading techniques rather than blows. A recent video even showed them sparring in Thailand, leaving fans confused, excited, and probably a little jealous.

The former featherweight champ, meanwhile, is treating this camp like another day at the office. “We just got here in Thailand—Phuket… Got in last night,” he casually mentioned in a training vlog, making it sound more like a beach vacation than fight prep. “Hopefully a fight announcement soon. But we’re in camp. We’ve been in camp for a while, doing a pre-camp camp. So now we’re pretty much in camp. I think Aljo is over here as well, so maybe we’ll get some training in.”

Oh, and if Lopes thinks he’s catching Volkanovski at the right time, he might want to rethink that. “You may be seeing the best Volk you’ve ever seen… I’m only going to get better from here,” the Australian warned. And as for the Brazilian featherweight’s chances? “He’s in for a very, very, very hard fight.” Regardless of what Sterling thinks, Lopes is the one stepping into the Octagon. And let’s be fair, he may not be the most “deserving” contender by traditional standards, but this guy is must-watch TV.

Further, the former featherweight king is coming off some tough losses. First, at lightweight against Islam Makhachev, followed by dropping his featherweight title to Ilia Topuria. Hence it makes UFC 314 a critical moment for him. Lopes, on the other hand, is riding high as one of the most exciting rising stars in the game. If he shocks the world, Sterling’s whole meritocracy argument will get tossed out the window faster than a bad judge’s scorecard. But if the Aussie dominates, expect even more calls for “the right thing to be done.”

Anyhow, Aljo’s making sure people are paying attention. So, what do you think? Will Lopes keep laughing, or will Volkanovski turn those emojis into a real-life nightmare? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!