via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 05: (L-R) Opponents Petr Yan of Russia and Aljamain Sterling face off during the UFC 259 weigh-in at UFC APEX on March 05, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 05: (L-R) Opponents Petr Yan of Russia and Aljamain Sterling face off during the UFC 259 weigh-in at UFC APEX on March 05, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Petr Yan is not too pleased with what happened at UFC 259. His Bantamweight title reign ended without even one successful defense after he lost the title to Aljamain Sterling. However, he wasn’t beaten by Sterling.
In fact, Yan was winning the bout. However, some miscommunication about the rules led Yan to strike Aljo with a brutal knee while Aljo was downed.
The illegal strike created a lot of controversies, with many, including Yan saying that Aljo overdid the reaction to the blow.
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Sterling was definitely losing that fight, but the shot that Yan landed on him was brutal. But now that the bad blood is well-established, Yan is not missing his chances to take shots at Aljo.
“I just need one takedown. I can shoot one hundred times, he can stop it one hundred times. If I get that one takedown, that 101st attempt, I get him down on his back, it’s gonna be a long night for that guy.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/Tx0aSRcEfk
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) March 16, 2021
Yan did a great job of keeping Aljo’s wrestling at a minimum. Sterling was burning a lot of his gas in the early exchanges, out-landing Yan the entire fight. However, Yan was doing more damage and was far more efficient.
Petr Yan: Is he going to get the belt back?
Petr Yan losing his belt marked the first time a UFC title switched hands via disqualification. It would be one thing if Yan was losing the fight, and that knee landed.
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The situation is dire because he was winning the bout upto that moment, with many wondering if Aljo would have been finished before the end of the fight.
via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 06: (L-R) Petr Yan of Russia punches Aljamain Sterling in their UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 259 event at UFC APEX on March 06, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
However, Aljamain Sterling will be more dangerous during his next outing in the octagon. He has a better understanding of Yan’s gameplan and won’t make some of the mistakes he did in the first fight.
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He was over-eager to strike early in that fight and was scrambling for takedowns. If he can tweak his strategy to be more efficient over a 5-round fight, he can easily win the rematch.
Yan fought like a champion up until he threw that knee. It was accidental but clearly illegal, which is why he has little wiggle room out of this situation. Hopefully, a rematch can give everyone the clarity they need from this bitter feud.
