“Thankfully, Yan was stupid enough”- Aljamain Sterling is glad Petr Yan hit him with the illegal knee at UFC 259
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Aljamain Sterling trashes Petr Yan
Aljamain Sterling, the undisputed bantamweight champion, is going to defend his title in a rematch against the preceding undisputed champion and now the interim-bantamweight champion Yan at UFC 273. The event takes place on April 9, 2022, at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida.
Sterling and Yan first fought back in March 2021 at UFC 259, when Yan was the undisputed champion and Sterling was the #1 contender for the belt. Initially, Sterling was executing the game plan well over Yan, but Petr took over in the later rounds with much cleaner shots against Sterling’s voluminous but touching punches.
In the fourth round, Yan hit Sterling with an illegal knee that caused him to lose the belt. Sterling was crowned as the new champ, but he was embarrassed with the way he won the belt. His teammates forced him to pose with the belt, and it started a whole new world of sledging for Sterling. Fans blasted him for taking pride in his ‘fake belt’ and after a point, Sterling just stopped caring.
“Make one miscalculation and sometimes the entire fight just goes to sh*t”- Aljamain Sterling admits he was losing the fight against Petr Yan at UFC 259
After this bout, an immediate rematch was booked between these two, but Sterling underwent surgery to deal with his lingering neck issues. He was out from over for over a year, and many accused him of making up an excuse to delay the inevitable. Just as mentioned, Sterling didn’t care, and now he’s more than prepared for this title rematch.
Talking about the first fight at UFC 273 countdown, he said, “I get chills even talking about it. When you’re making that walk, it’s kind of a lonely feel. No fans, super quiet… kind of eerie. It’s almost like you’re walking into a back alley, and someone kind of tell you, ‘You guys ready?'”
“I can still visualize myself in there, seeing Yan, seeing myself pushing forward. I wore my heart on my sleeve that night! Took some big shots, like a man. Kept coming forward and trying to make whatever I could out of that moment of opportunity that I had. I just don’t quite you know? But sometimes things don’t go your way. You make one miscalculation and sometimes the entire fight just goes to sh*t. Thankfully, Yan was stupid enough to not know the rules,” Sterling concluded.
Also read – UFC 273: Aljamain Sterling vs Petr Yan 2 Prediction, Odds and Fight Preview
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Suryansh Thakur
(1600 Articles Published)