Aljamain Sterling has weighed in on the UFC 296 ticket fiasco.
Sterling, the former UFC bantamweight champion, was turned away from the promotion’s final event of the year when he was told there were no more tickets available. He vented his frustration on the situation on his X account, and many fans criticized the UFC for letting such a blunder occur.
Sorry to the fans asking to take pictures while we were stuck outside. Just a bit annoyed that we found out our tickets were pulled, after arriving to the arena. #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/d5VY10YmGG
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) December 17, 2023
Aljamain Sterling Speaks Out On UFC 296 Ticket Botch
Aljamain Sterling took to his YouTube channel to address the situation that he found himself in this past Saturday night (December 16).
“So, we go through this procedure, this channel to put in our ticket request either the fighter themselves directly or through management,” Sterling said. “I put my request in about two and a half weeks ago for two events; the Apex last weekend, Chris Gutierrez vs. Song Yadong, and for UFC 296 confirmed. Got the tickets for obviously the Apex, and this one I’m kind of assuming the same ’cause it was already confirmed to me. So, I’m not trying to fan the flames. I think somewhere there was a little bit of a disconnect.”
During the UFC 296 post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White claimed that Sterling’s tickets were through a sponsor. “Funk Master” denied that claim.
“The only thing I didn’t really understand is someone sent me the clip of, I guess, Dana saying that the tickets were through a sponsor,” Sterling continued. “I don’t know what that was about ’cause I’ve never had tickets from a sponsor for any of the UFC fights. I always go through the same exact channels every single time.”
Sterling went on to confirm Dana’s claim that the UFC reached out in an attempt to bring him back to the T-Mobile Arena. Ultimately, “Funk Master” declined as he already settled on watching the event at Flanker + Sports Bar. Sterling explained that by the time he would’ve drove back to the arena and gone through security, there would’ve been just three fights left on the main card.
