UFC’s Aljamain Sterling embracing his ‘15 minutes of fame’ — VIDEO

Undefeated bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling did a double-take when he arrived in Las Vegas this week and was handed a schedule of media appearances to promote his Ultimate Fighting Championship bout against Bryan Caraway on Sunday at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

Sterling isn’t complaining about the loaded itinerary, though. In fact, he asked for it.

“I wanted this position and I’m enjoying it,” the 26-year-old Long Island native said. “I saw myself in this position and it’s onward and upward from here.”

Sterling, a two-time Division III All-American wrestler, has compiled a 4-0 record since signing with the UFC in 2014 to surge into the top five in the division. Despite the success and an outgoing and at times flashy personality, he has remained largely under the radar.

After negotiating a new contract with the UFC earlier this year, he hoped to change that. Then he learned he would fight Caraway this week in an untelevised bout on the UFC Fight Night 88 card that will stream online through UFC Fight Pass before the Fox Sports 1 coverage begins at 4 p.m.

Sterling said he was upset with the placement until he spoke with UFC officials and learned the featured bout would get a big marketing push with the hope of attracting new subscribers.

So he decided to make the most of it.

“I’m just embracing it and taking it for what it is,” Sterling said. “It’s 15 minutes of fame. This thing goes by so fast. I’ve learned from all the other great fighters and even the ones who weren’t so great that went through similar situations: You just have to capitalize on the opportunity you have in front of you and make the most you can out of it. I’m going to shake as many hands as possible, meet as many great people as I can, make my money to set my future up and ride off into the sunset.”

He has a long way to go before that happens, but a win over Caraway would push Sterling even closer to his goals. The coach and longtime boyfriend of women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, Caraway has won three of his last four fights and is a tough matchup for anyone in the division.

Caraway insists he shouldered just as big a marketing burden as Sterling for this fight, but just didn’t make a big deal of it.

“I honestly didn’t think it was all about him except that he makes it all about him,” Caraway said. “Ultimately it comes down to Sunday night I’m going to get my hand raised and everything’s going to get flipped on him. I’ve been an underdog almost every fight in the UFC and I keep winning. Eventually people are going to stop doubting me. I’m a force to be reckoned with. It’s going to get to a point where they have to accept me.”

Sterling is also trying to force the issue. He believes his penchant for winning fights on the mat is what has held him back from being a star already.

“I’m not going to say it’s my personality,” he laughed. “No way in hell it could be my personality.”

Sterling’s last two wins have come by submission and he makes no secret of the pride he takes in showing off his grappling superiority.

But he wants to show that ground fighting can be exciting. He even compared his style to former middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

“He’s more of a knockout artist looking to put you away in spectacular fashion, where as I look to do that in a grappling sense,” Sterling said. “I have to take a little bit of time to build up to it. It’s like little pieces of the puzzle to get to the end. That’s pretty much what I like to do. I like to break down my opponents, frustrate them and get them to where I’m strongest and the finish is going to come. It’s not guns blazing out of the gate, but that’s not what this sport is about to me. Yeah, I want to please the fans, but I think the fans are pleased with me getting the finish. When it does formulate, I feel like they’re like, ‘That was pretty fun to watch.’ ”

Sterling now has the platform he wanted. He hopes to use the attention as a springboard into bigger opportunities in the cage, but realizes that doesn’t happen through interviews alone no matter how well he performs on camera.

“I definitely want to do something spectacular out there. I want to show people I’m for real and I’m the next big thing coming up,” he said. “I’m in the very beginning stages of this. I think this (attention) is preparing me for bigger things and I think I’ll be able to handle it as long as I’m doing things the right way and staying focused on the main job of getting ready to fight, getting ready to win. Ultimately, it comes down to your performance. That’s what people care about.”

The bout is part of a card headlined by a matchup of undefeated bantamweight prospects Thomas Almeida and Cody Garbrandt.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj