Aljamain Sterling, the former UFC Bantamweight Champion, recently penned a heartfelt note after seeing a clip of a father-son boxing duo. Sterling grew up with an absent father, and the emotional clip caught his attention.
Sterling last competed at UFC 310, losing to Mosvar Evloev via decision. The UFC has not yet announced what’s next for “Funk Master.”
Aljamain Sterling Reacts to Video of Chris Eubank Jr. and His Father
Chris Eubanks Jr. recently defeated Conor Benn via decision in a highly anticipated clash billed as “Fatal Fury.” Their fathers had fought during their heyday. Eubanks’ father defeated Benn’s father Nigel in their first fight, followed by a draw in the second.
Soon after the fight, Boxing King Media shared a video clip of Eubanks Jr.’s childhood interaction with his father, with whom he shares his first name. In the video, Eubanks Sr. didn’t want his son to follow in his footsteps, but his son badly wanted it. In the end, the father yielded to his son’s persistence.
Sterling, who had a traumatic childhood due to his absent father, felt emotional after seeing the clip. “Father support I always wished to have growing. This gave me chills. When I have my own kids, I promise to be better and to do better than what I had,” Sterling posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Father support I always wished to have growing. This gave me chills. When I have my own kids, I promise to be better and to do better than what I had. https://t.co/0xOANA7YAM
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) April 30, 2025
The UFC fighter lived in a household of seven siblings and six half-siblings growing up. Born to Jamaican immigrants in New York, Sterling has spoken up about witnessing instances of domestic violence against his mother on numerous occasions.
Sterling Opened Up About His Difficult Childhood
Sterling lost his bantamweight title to “Sugar” Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, before winning a decision against Calvin Kattar and dropping one to Evloev. Preluding the highly anticipated title fight, Sterling appeared on “BS w/ Jake Paul,” where he opened up about his childhood.
“No one gives a f*** man, that’s really it. Yeah, I grew up in Roosevelt and then I moved to Uniondale, graduated there, and then I went to college. I was the first one to graduate from my school,” Sterling replied when asked what part of his childhood forged him to become a champion.
“You almost feel like a little bit alone, and my parents weren’t really, like my mom was around, my dad was in and out, street pharmacist kind of thing. But no one was really there to nurture and try to help you grow, and that type of stuff. It wasn’t like that,” Sterling added.
The 35-year-old claimed that the situation has not changed even after becoming the champion, but hoped it would change. Paul agreed with Sterling, pointing out that the experience helped “Funk Master” positively.
“The Problem Child” also mentioned that Sterling’s mentality is different from that of the majority in the present generation, who don’t work hard and blame it on others, adopting a victim mentality.