Aljamain Sterling, Dana White tell different stories about UFC 296 tickets issue

Aljamain Sterling is confused why he was denied entry to UFC 296.

The former UFC bantamweight champion posted on X that he found out his tickets for this past Saturday’s event in Las Vegas were pulled after he arrived at T-Mobile Arena.

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

Sterling later explained what happened.

“So, we go through this procedure, this channel, we put in our ticket request either the fighter themselves directly or your management,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I put in 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 then this one I’m kind of assuming the same because 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.”

Dana White was asked what happened during the UFC 296 post-fight news conference. He said that Sterling’s tickets were through a sponsor.

“Well, they were tickets that – he was with a sponsor,” White said. “I don’t know how they got pulled or what happened, but the team reached right out to him and he was like, ‘Yeah, never mind, I’m good, I’m going to leave.’”

“The Funkmaster” 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 said. “I don’t know what that was about because 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 is currently gearing up for his featherweight debut. Initially wanting former champion Max Holloway, he’s now zoning in on top contender Calvin Kattar, whom he sees as a more realistic option.