Chael Sonnen feels UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling doesn't get the credit and respect that he deserves.

Sterling recently defended his bantamweight title against former two-weight champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 earlier this month. It was his third consecutive defense of the 135-pound strap — the most in bantamweight history.

Additionally, Sterling's nine-fight unbeaten streak is the longest active streak in divisional history while he defended his title for the third time in 13 months.

But despite that, “The Funkmaster” has been at odds with UFC president Dana White as the pair had a back-and-forth over Sterling's need to heal up before his upcoming UFC 292 title defense against Sean O'Malley in August.

Sterling doesn't feel he gets the credit he deserves and Sonnen can't help but agree as he claims he has never seen a more disrespected world champion in the UFC.

“There’s certain things that Aljo would just like to get credit for, and he’s right to do that,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel (via MMA Junkie). “I have never seen a more disrespected world champion, and this isn’t new. You guys got your nuts in a ringer over Aljo the night that he won the world championship via disqualification. It wasn’t just you the viewer. The pundits did it to him, as well.

“It wasn’t just the pundits. There were officials and members of the commission that had a huge problem with the referee letting a world title change hands over disqualification. I never understood that. We only have a couple of rules in this sport: Don’t poke his eyes, don’t bite the son of a b***h, and don’t kick him when he’s down. One was egregiously violated.”

Sonnen is especially surprised to see Aljamain Sterling receive criticism following his win over Cejudo — a competitive affair but one he just about edged.

“‘We can bring in the greatest and most decorated combat athlete in the history of time. … If we do that, we get Cejudo back, we get rid of Aljo, the world can then be fixed.’ Aljo didn’t follow the script,” Sonnen added. “Instead of appreciating it, we’ve decided to be angry and we’ve decided to be mean to him, and we’ve decided to hurt the world champion’s feelings.”

Sterling should still be able to defend his title against O'Malley in August and if he comes out on top in a decisive way, it could turn the tide around how he's perceived.