Aljamain Sterling News

Susan Cox - January 5, 2022

Aljamain Sterling previously made claims on social media that Petr Yan uses PED’s (performing enhancing drugs) which at the time received a lot of backlash. The implications were that all Russians cheat by using performing enhancing drugs. Sterling has since responded to the backlash by clarifying he was only talking about Yan:

Harry Kettle - December 27, 2021

UFC interim bantamweight champion Petr Yan has promised to “destroy” Aljamain Sterling in their imminent rematch. Earlier this year at UFC 259, Aljamain Sterling captured the 135-pound title from Petr Yan via disqualification in one of the most controversial finishes of the year thus far. It was the kind of result that reminded us all of one key fact: anything can happen in mixed martial arts.

Andrew Whitelaw - December 22, 2021

John McCarthy has lauded Jose Aldo and believes that the Brazilian could beat the current UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. Aldo has looked revitalised recently. The former featherweight champ has put together an impressive run of three straight victories including a unanimous decision win against Rob Font earlier this month.

Harry Kettle - December 6, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has provided his own blueprint for how he’d try to defeat Jose Aldo. Last Saturday night, MMA fans across the globe watched on in awe as Jose Aldo turned back the clock once again with an emphatic win over Rob Font. The unanimous decision success took him up to a three-fight win streak and left many believing he’s now just one win away from another shot at the bantamweight strap.

Adam D Martin - November 24, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling trolled his rival Petr Yan with his latest injury news, joking that “doc says back in 2023.” Sterling defeated Yan at UFC 259 earlier this year via fourth-round DQ after the Russian was disqualified for throwing an illegal knee to the head of a grounded opponent. It was the first time in UFC history that a belt changed hands following a disqualification, with Sterling being crowned the new UFC bantamweight champion after Yan lost his belt. The two were then supposed to fight at UFC 267 in October in a rematch, but Sterling was forced to pull out of the fight due to an injury. Instead of Yan vs. Sterling, the UFC called upon top contender Cory Sandhagen to step up on short notice. Yan ended up beating Sandhagen via unanimous decision in what was the “Fight of the Night” at UFC 267.

Chris Taylor - November 20, 2021

Sean O’Malley trolled UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling while confirming his interest in fighting Adrian Yanez this March. O’Malley (14-1 MMA), who is scheduled to return at next month’s UFC 269 event for a bantamweight bout with Raulian Paiva (21-3 MMA), raised eyebrows this afternoon when he tweeted “March” following the conclusion of today’s FOTN scrap between Adrian Yanez and Davey Grant.

Christopher Taylor - November 9, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling was not happy to see Petr Yan’s name included in the latest ESPN P4P rankings. Earlier this afternoon, ESPN released their updated UFC P4P rankings. The 10-fighter list was voted on by journalists Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, Carlos Legaspi, Mike Coppinger and Jeff Wagenheim.

Adam D Martin - November 2, 2021

New UFC interim bantamweight champion Petr Yan issued a warning to “chicken heart” Aljamain Sterling following his big win at UFC 267. Yan defeated Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision in the co-main event of this past Saturday’s UFC 267 card. The fight was absolutely phenomenal as both men went back and forth for the entire 25 minutes in one of the best fights of the year. But at the end of the five rounds, it was Yan who ended up getting his hand raised with three 49-46 scorecards.

Christopher Taylor - October 30, 2021

Dana White reacted to Saturday’s absolute war between Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen during tonight’s UFC 267 post-fight press conference. Yan (16-2 MMA) and Sandhagen (14-4 MMA) squared off in today’s co-main event with the promotions interim bantamweight title up for grabs.

Chris Taylor - October 30, 2021

Aljamain Sterling clearly tuned in to watch Saturday’s UFC 267 interim bantamweight title fight between Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen. Sterling (21-3 MMA), the UFC’s reigning bantamweight champion, was originally slated to rematch Yan (16-2 MMA) at today’s event, this after their initial fight ended in controversial fashion at UFC 259. However, lingering issues from neck surgery prevented ‘Funkmaster’ from being able to compete.

Adam D Martin - October 28, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan says that he is not interested in the Aljamain Sterling rematch even with a win at UFC 267. Yan was supposed to fight Sterling in a rematch in the co-main event of UFC 267, which takes place on Saturday on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Yan and Sterling met earlier this year at UFC 259 when Yan was the champion defending his belt. However, Yan made a massive blunder in that fight when he landed an illegal knee on Sterling in the fourth round and finished him with it, leading to a disqualification. The ending of the fight was very controversial and the UFC immediately booked the rematch.

Cole Shelton - October 27, 2021

Petr Yan trolled Aljamain Sterling at his open workout at UFC 267. In the co-main event of UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi, Yan was supposed to rematch Sterling for the bantamweight title, yet he will now face Cory Sandhagen for the interim title. They fought back in March where Yan landed an illegal knee and was DQ’d leaving Sterling to become the new champion. With that, at open workouts, Yan faked the illegal knee, which was a shot at Sterling.

Harry Kettle - October 12, 2021

Demetrious Johnson stands by his thoughts on the “downed opponent” rule despite Aljamain Sterling’s karma remarks. We’ve over six months removed from Aljamain Sterling’s DQ win over Petr Yan that had many questioning Sterling as he went on to claim the UFC bantamweight title. Demetrious Johnson, in the immediate aftermath, said that the knee Yan struck Sterling with should’ve been deemed legal, suggesting Sterling knew where to put his hands as he could feel the momentum of the fight shifting.

Harry Kettle - October 7, 2021

TJ Dillashaw has doubts that UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will be able to return after his recent neck surgery. The top of the bantamweight division has been an interesting place for many months now ever since Sterling won the belt from Petr Yan via disqualification. We were scheduled to see the rematch later this month but as a result of Sterling pulling out due to lingering issues following neck surgery, Yan will now fight Cory Sandhagen for the interim strap.

Adam D Martin - October 4, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling explained why he withdrew from his scheduled UFC 267 rematch against his rival, Petr Yan. Sterling defeat Yan via a controversial fourth-round DQ back at UFC 259 in March. Yan was in complete control of the fight and was well on his way to finishing it or at least winning a decision. However, he made a colossal error when he landed an illegal knee to the head of a downed opponent. Sterling was not able to continue and, in a UFC first, the belt changed hands via DQ. Although Yan deserved to be punished for his infraction, there are many fans out there who are not buying Sterling as a champion due to him winning the fight by DQ.

Cole Shelton - September 30, 2021

Petr Yan wasn’t surprised when he heard Aljamain Sterling pulled out of their rematch at UFC 267. Yan and Sterling were supposed to have their highly-anticipated rematch in Abu Dhabi at UFC 267 in an intriguing matchup. They first fought back at UFC 259 in March where Sterling became the new champion due to Yan throwing an illegal knee and being DQ’d.

Adam Martin - September 29, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling shared his prediction for the upcoming interim title fight between Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen. Sterling defeated Yan via fourth-round DQ at UFC 259 earlier this year to become the undisputed 135lbs champion, but with the stoppage being so controversial, the UFC had no choice but to book an immediate rematch. Sterling and Yan were supposed to fight at UFC 267 in October, but the rematch was scrapped last week when Sterling was forced to withdraw due to lingering injuries. The UFC was adamant that Yan stays on the card and the promotion booked him against one of the division’s other top contenders in Sandhagen for an interim title fight. The two will now meet at UFC 267 for the interim 135lbs belt.

Cole Shelton - September 27, 2021

Aljamain Sterling has opened up on why he was forced out of his rematch against Petr Yan at UFC 267. On Saturday, it was revealed Sterling was out of the fight due to lingering issues with his neck. However, according to the bantamweight champion, he tried to push through training but his body wouldn’t allow it. He then asked for the fight to be delayed but the UFC doctors pulled him from the fight and the promotion decided to keep Yan on UFC 267 for an interim belt.