Aljamain Sterling Makes Horror Movie Connection and Reasons Difficulty of Facing ‘Boogeyman’ Petr Yan

Aljamain Sterling makes weird connection as to why two-time former 135lbs rival Petr Yan is a ‘boogeyman,’ risking shots to run down opponents.

Aljamain Sterling Makes Horror Movie Connection and Reasons Difficulty of Facing ‘Boogeyman’ Petr Yan

Aljamain Sterling explains puzzle of fighting ‘boogeyman’ Petr Yan (Source: X/IMAGO)

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Aljamain Sterling has provided a cogent exposition on Petr Yan’s fighting technique. The American-Jamaican fighter faced him before twice, but they belong in different weight classes now. Sterling has ended up offering a comparison that few, if any, would have anticipated.

Petr Yan is on a 3-0 winning streak, career resurgence like never before. This has included the standout bantamweight matching up with Deiveson Figueiredo at the UFC Macau headliner. Pressing against Figgy’s power and wide stance, Yan ran him down, tripped him, and outboxed him in an instant classic.

The former flyweight kingpin from Brazil was streaking high (3-0) at 135lbs with wins over Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt, and Marlon Vera. But ‘No Mercy’ rocked him at stances others could not. Following that, at UFC on ABC 9, Yan made good work of Marcus McGhee on the scorecards.

Aljamain Sterling knows the opponent and his power well enough. But in a wild turn, Aljo made comparisons to classic horror villain Jason Voorhees’ hunt for victims, similar to how Yan runs down with close-range boxing!

You can hit him as much as you want, but then if you give him an opening where he can land a clean shot…he finds it over and over again with these guys. A guy like that — you’ve gotta knock him out…[Otherwise] think Petr makes this decision every time he steps out there, ‘I’m gonna constantly go forward, I’m gonna walk you down, I’m gonna put these punches in your face, and when I land, I’m gonna make sure I’m landing with impact…What would you do with this Terminator machine, Jason Voorhees, just walking you down, and every time he punches you, he just comes forward? 

Aljamain Sterling on ‘The Weekly Scraps’ Podcast (@FunkMasterUFC) for his YT Channel

A Friday the 13th horror anecdote in UFC? Not many fans would have had that in the bingo cards when all Yan is doing is calling his shots for a PPV title rematch with Merab Dvalishvili. Current title challenger, No.4-ranked Cory Sandhagen, also wants a piece of the Russian switch-stance boxer again. Their 2021 interim title fight was yet another classic standup from the Russian.

According to Sterling, Yan’s decision to always go forward and run down opponents has made him such a difficult option to fight. If not horror-flicks of mortally wounded villains still chasing down with hatchets, it draws parallels to Dricus Du Plessis. He risks his chin to open shots and catches rivals with stray, head-first swings and K1-style range kickboxing.

‘Funk Master’ recently also billed that Yan would be a good test to former 145-pound champ Ilia Topuria, who is a similar height and touts excellent range management as a boxer. However, the Russian striker will likely end up with a size disadvantage if he moves up.

Petr Yan does not agree with Khabib Nurmagomedov that no fighter can have ‘two peaks’ in career

There’s nothing quite in fashion as hot as a comeback, and Petr Yan is stylistically up for it. He has been dissing those (apparent) bossman privileges, while he himself grinded for gold. Ex-UFC lightweight legend Khabib Nurmagomedov retired undefeated at 29-0 stats. ‘The Eagle’ believes every fighter has that ‘one’ peak MMA phase to give it their all.

Petr Yan wants to write storybook ending to his title redemption
Petr Yan wants to write storybook ending to his title redemption (Source: X)

Although Yan’s victory over Sandhagen brought him another UFC title, it was only an interim belt. The Russian soon suffered three consecutive losses, which temporarily eliminated them from the championship competition. His dreams of getting back to another title stint after the 2021 DQ loss against Aljamain Sterling seemed far off.

Touch gold or touch grass? Nurmagomedov’s predictions seemed true. However, Yan didn’t give up hope, and his McGhee-assignment proved that thrice in a row! Even before that UFC Abu Dhabi fight, Yan said he did not agree with his Russian comrade’s takes.

That is Khabib’s theory; [then] Stick to it…I don’t know how to tell if you are, are… at your peak. You need to feel it, or show it. I feel like have everything to get there…

Petr Yan during UFC on ABC 9 Official Media Day

Yan’s goal is to achieve a result that Nurmagomedov might not have foreseen despite his long run. His championship redemption is close, as other peers and Dvalishvili have acknowledged his win. Pending a UFC 320 co-headliner and PPV bantamweight title bout, Yan could be scrapping for gold very soon, again.

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