Sterling takes split decision over Yan to retain UFC bantamweight title
Aljamain Sterling became one of the UFC's least popular fighters after taking the bantamweight title from Petr Yan in controversial fashion nearly 400 days ago. Since then, he's had to deal with countless critics attacking him on social media.
On Saturday night, he finally silenced those doubters.
Sterling defeated Yan via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) in the UFC 273 co-main event in Jacksonville to unify the bantamweight titles. Yan entered the fight as the interim champion.
"People wrote me off after my last performance," Sterling said in his postfight interview. "But I told you guys that was a big hiccup.
"I had a tough-ass opponent in Petr Yan. He's dangerous. He brings it every single time. And man, he brought out the best of me."
Sterling's grappling secured him the judges' nod over Yan. Unlike in their first fight, he managed to get Yan to the mat in the second round following a competitive Round 1 that featured little action. Sterling spent the rest of the frame maintaining control of Yan and hunting for a rear-naked choke. While Yan was unable to escape Sterling's body triangle, his submission defense held up.
Sterling maintained the momentum in the third round. He secured a takedown about a minute-and-a-half into the stanza and once again controlled Yan, looking for a submission until time expired.
The tide turned in the fourth, with Yan landing some shots on the feet and then ending up on top of Sterling in a scramble on the ground. Yan didn't do much damage, but he controlled Sterling on the mat in what was his clearest round to that point.
Sterling tried hard to get a takedown in the fifth, but Yan stayed on his feet and then spent the waning minutes in a dominant position.
After the fight, Sterling called out former champion TJ Dillashaw, who was in attendance at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on Saturday, for his next title defense.
"TJ Dillashaw, where the f--- you at?" Sterling said. "You're next."
Sterling and Yan first met in March 2021 at UFC 259. At the time, Yan was the undisputed champion and Sterling was challenging him for the title. Yan was disqualified in the fourth round after drilling Sterling with an illegal knee. Yan appeared to be on track to winning the fight before committing the foul.
Several fans turned on Sterling after the fight, largely because "Funk Master" posed in photos with the belt in a seemingly celebratory fashion. Many pundits still considered Yan the top 135-pound fighter in the world. As the year went on, Sterling embraced his new role as a heel.
The rematch was initially scheduled for UFC 267 last October, but Sterling wasn't cleared by doctors. He underwent neck surgery one month after the first Yan bout to fix a lingering issue that he says affected him dating back to his collegiate wrestling days.
Yan went on to claim the interim title with a unanimous decision win over short-notice replacement Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267. This was Sterling's first fight since the initial meeting with Yan.
Sterling extended his winning streak to seven. He hasn't lost since a knockout defeat to Marlon Moraes in 2017.
Yan fell to 1-2 in his past three clashes. "No Mercy" won the vacant bantamweight title against Jose Aldo in July 2020. He started his UFC career with seven straight victories after debuting in 2018.