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Aljamin Sterling proved once again that he is still the UFC Bantamweight Champion but this time Sterling won Fair & Square.
In the UFC 273 co-headliner, Sterling (21-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) decides to split former champion and multi-time rival Peter Yan (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) (48-47, 47). -48) defeated. , 48-47) to retain his title. The competition took place at the Wistar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.
The first round was the process of eliminating a technical sense, in which Yan took a step forward. The challenger did not lose his composure, remained calm, and carried out mostly meaningful strikes. Sterling was a bit unconventional as usual. When he took a shot here and there, he didn't take Yan's volume or quality - even if the margin was thin.
In the second round, Sterling quickly changed the game plan and the result came out. One leg effort worked as he dragged Yan to the canvas and quickly retreated. It locked in a physical triangle, but Yan did a good job of fighting with his hands. When he escaped the threat of extradition, Yan absorbed a tremendous amount of land and pounds when he landed on Stirling Mount. He rained punches on Yan, who hid but survived. He refrained from submitting till the end of the round.
Round 3 began and after an initial full takedown, Sterling took Yan down again - and went right back. Once again, Sterling threatened to kneel backwards. For the entire round, Sterling suffocated Yan in the bag position. There was no real threat, nor was there as much damage as in Round 2 - but again there was no question of who won the frame.
The championship rounds began and Yan's hasty victory seemed to bother Sterling. After further success on foot, Jan came to the top of Sterling's guard. There, he fired a few shots before finishing the round in a controlled position.
Possibly someone's fight before Round 4, Sterling soon won Yan over the fence after a pump-up speech by Coach Ray Longo in the corner. Sterling tried and tried again but couldn't get Yan down. Both men were tired. Sterling almost got it, but Yan defended and took his own ground position. The fight ended with Yan bowing to the fence against Sterling.
Disqualifying critics, Sterling defeated Yan as a heavy underdog to retain his UFC Bantamweight Championship. With the victory, he extended his winning streak to seven, including the likes of Corey Sandhagan, Pedro Manhoz and Cody Steeman.
"I had a strong opponent in Peter Yan," said Sterling. "He's dangerous and he brings out the best in me. He beats one of me - the first fight. It's for the haters who keep writing to me."
Yan, from Russia, looked incredible as he read the scorecard.
"I think they have won this fight, but I was robbed," Yan told a translator.
Who agrees with Yan?
Up-to-Date UFC 273 results include:
Aljamain Sterling def. Petr Yan via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
Mackenzie Dern def. Tecia Torres via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Mark Madsen def. Vinc Pichel via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Ian Garry def. Darian Weeks via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Anthony Hernandez def. Josh Fremd via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Raquel Pennington def. Aspen Ladd via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mike Malott def. Mickey Gall via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:41
Aleksei Oleinik def. Jared Vanderaa via submission (neck crank) – Round 1, 3:39
Piera Rodriguez def. Kay Hansen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Julio Arce def. Daniel Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
