Like many others, Chael Sonnen isn’t particularly excited to see former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling on the UFC 310 preliminary card.

There’s no denying that Sterling (24-4 MMA, 16-4 UFC) vs. Movsar Evloev is an important matchup in the featherweight division, as No. 5 faces No. 9 according to the official UFC rankings. But despite his high profile, two other featherweight bouts – Nate Landwehr vs. Doo-ho Choi and Bryce Mitchell vs. Kron Gracie – enjoy top rankings ahead of Sterling vs. Evloev (18-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC).

Sonnen doesn’t understand the logic behind the UFC’s decision in the fight order of Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Las Vegas, which leads him to believe the promotion is ignoring Sterling.

“I think Aljo can still become champion,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I feel like he’s being overlooked. Historically, when you’re champion and you move to a new division, you have to win a fight, but when you win it, you’re fighting for the title. Alex Pereira, it just happened to him at 185. Kamaru Usman was at the spot when he went up. They told him to win this fight and that he would fight for a title. In general, it’s only one, and Aljo has already won two, and he is ahead.

“I think he’ll do a great job in this fight, but I think they might be missing that. I don’t feel like a world champion who has the potential to come back – I think Aljo may have been overlooked.”

Sterling, 35, has a 10-1 record in his last 11 UFC fights. This run included his fight for the UFC bantamweight belt, his three title defenses and a knockout loss to Sean O’Malley in which he lost his belt. This includes his UFC featherweight debut, which he won against veteran Calvin Kattar in April.

For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s UFC 310 event hub.