Aljamain Sterling News

Chris Taylor - August 21, 2021

Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan has reacted after officially booking a rematch with Aljamain Sterling for UFC 267 this October. Sterling (20-3 MMA) captured the promotions bantamweight championship this past March after Yan (15-2 MMA) was disqualified from their fight due to an illegal knee in round four. Prior to the fight-ending strike, the Russian appeared to well on his way to earning his first career title defense.

Adam D Martin - July 28, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling trashed TJ Dillashaw following his successful comeback, saying “you didn’t come clean you idiot.” Sterling is expected to rematch his rival, Petr Yan, later this year for the UFC bantamweight title, with Dillashaw fighting the winner following his split decision win over Cory Sandhagen at last weekend’s UFC Vegas 32 card. Speaking to Sirius XM’s Fight Nation following the Dillashaw vs. Sandhagen fight, Sterling said that he would be open to fighting Dillashaw in the future. But the one thing that is bothering Sterling is that Dillashaw has said that he came clean about his past use of performance-enhancing drugs, when “Funk Master” says the reality of the situation is he only came clean after he was caught.

Adam D Martin - July 14, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling suggested that his rival Petr Yan has benefited from the so-called “Dana White privilege.” Sterling and Yan fought earlier this year at UFC 259 and the fight ended in a very controversial fashion after Yan kneed Sterling in the head while he was a downed opponent, leading to the champion losing his belt via DQ. Since the first encounter between these two, both men have spent the better part of the last few months talking plenty of smack to each other on social media ahead of a potential rematch. Sterling is currently on the shelf with injuries but the hope is that these two can rematch sometime this fall.

Christopher Taylor - July 1, 2021

Former lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov recently shared his thoughts on Aljamain Sterling’s bantamweight title win over Petr Yan at UFC 259. Sterling (20-3 MMA) captured the promotions bantamweight championship this past March after Petr Yan (15-2 MMA) was disqualified from their fight due to an illegal knee in round four.

Harry Kettle - May 19, 2021

Former two-weight world champion Henry Cejudo has offered to come out of retirement for a fight against one of three UFC title holders. Cejudo, also known as “Triple C”, has spent the last few years building a real platform for himself as he continues to spread his name and brand out there in the mainstream media.

Harry Kettle - May 4, 2021

UFC referee Herb Dean has given his thoughts on the controversial ending to Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling back at UFC 259. In their UFC Bantamweight Championship clash, it appeared as if Yan was well on his way to successfully retaining his title. However, after he threw an illegal knee at a downed opponent, Sterling was able to leave the UFC APEX as champion through a disqualification victory.

Harry Kettle - April 27, 2021

Cory Sandhagen has revealed that he wasn’t impressed by Aljamain Sterling after his win over Petr Yan and that he believes Yan will win the rematch. Sandhagen, who was beaten by Sterling via submission back at UFC 250, has since bounced back with devastating wins over Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar. Now, he’ll turn his attention towards an enticing fight against the returning TJ Dillashaw on May 8.

Harry Kettle - April 19, 2021

Henry Cejudo and Aljamain Sterling have reignited their Twitter beef as fans continue to question whether “Triple C” will return to the UFC. Sterling, who is the UFC bantamweight champion after his disqualification win over Petr Yan, is set to be out of action until later this year due to impending neck surgery. On the flip side, Cejudo has been retired from mixed martial arts since defending the very same title against Dominick Cruz towards the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adam Martin - April 11, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has revealed his timetable for his return to the Octagon after opting for neck surgery. Sterling became the new UFC 135lbs champion last month at UFC 259 when he defeated Petr Yan via first-round DQ after the Russian finished the fight with an illegal knee. The two rivals were fully expected to rematch in the coming months once both men recovered from the fight, but it appears as though the rematch is going to have to wait. That’s because Sterling is opting to get neck surgery. Speaking on his “Weekly Scraps” podcast, Sterling explained why he is getting the surgery now and said when he will be able to fight again.

Adam D Martin - April 11, 2021

UFC bantamweight Petr Yan shared the Marlon Moraes knockout in his latest jab at Aljamain Sterling: “Actor fought 4 months after that KO.” Yan illegally kneed Sterling in the head while he was a downed opponent in a fight he was dominating at UFC 259. With the knee hurting Sterling badly enough to the point he could not continue, the fight was stopped and declared a DQ win for Sterling by referee Mark Smith. The call was controversial, as it was the first time in UFC history that a title has changed hands via disqualification. Based on the rules, it was a fair call made by the referee. However, Sterling winning the belt instead of Yan has affected the 135lbs title picture.

Chris Taylor - April 9, 2021

Aljamain Sterling was not pleased to see that some fans were calling for him to be stripped of the UFC bantamweight title due to his upcoming neck surgery. Sterling (20-3 MMA) captured the promotions 135-lbs title in less than favorable fashion at UFC 259, being awarded a DQ victory after Petr Yan struck him with an illegal knee.

Adam D Martin - April 9, 2021

UFC bantamweight contender Petr Yan sent a message to his rival Aljamain Sterling, telling him that “your ass is getting stripped p*ssy.” Yan and Sterling met last month at UFC 259 and their fight ended in controversy, after Yan landed an illegal knee late in the fourth round that caused the fight to be ruled a DQ win for Sterling. For the past month, these two rivals have been going back-and-forth with each other on social media. They did so again on Thursday when Yan took a shot at Sterling for potentially needing nine more months to recover. Sterling apparently told the UFC that he is not ready to defend his belt anytime soon and Yan isn’t having any of it.

Chris Taylor - April 3, 2021

Henry Cejudo did not hold back on Aljamain Sterling after the current UFC bantamweight champion took a shot at him on social media. Sterling had recently commented on a photo shared by Cejudo, where he insinuated that the “ex-champ” had something in his teeth.

Cole Shelton - March 30, 2021

Petr Yan continues to trade shots with Aljamain Sterling. After Yan was DQ’d against Sterling at UFC 259 to lose his bantamweight title, it was thought an immediate rematch would be next. However, Sterling has made it clear he wouldn’t be opposed to a different opponent  and believes Yan shouldn’t get rewarded with a title shot.

Cole Shelton - March 26, 2021

Aljamain Sterling doesn’t understand why Petr Yan is getting a rematch. At UFC 259, Sterling fought Yan for the bantamweight title and it was a high-action fight. However, entering the championship rounds, Yan was starting to take over but in the fourth round, Yan landed an illegal knee and the fight was over and Sterling became the new champ by DQ.

Adam D Martin - March 26, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling responded to criticism from veteran referee John McCarthy about the Petr Yan illegal knee. Sterling won the UFC’s 135lbs belt at UFC 259 earlier this month in controversial fashion after Yan landed a knee to the head of a downed opponent and was disqualified. Referee Mark Smith deemed the knee intentional and gave Yan the DQ when Sterling was unable to continue. Afterward, Sterling came under heavy criticism online from fans, media, fellow fighters, and even officials when McCarthy questioned his desire not to continue. Of course, McCarthy is a podcast host these days, but he is arguably the most notable MMA referee of all time. So when he criticized Sterling for the knee incident, people listened to him.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Aljamain Sterling and Matt Serra appear to be on good terms. In the lead-up to UFC 259, Sterling was training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and added Eric Nicksick to his corner. With the addition of Nicksick, Serra was removed from the corner, and the former welterweight champion admitted he was very upset by the news. The former UFC welterweight champion also announced his retirement from cornering fighters which caused a ton of backlash on Sterling, who was already feeling the heat following the illegal knee DQ finish in the Petr Yan fight at UFC 259.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling believes that he “outstruck” Petr Yan in their title fight at UFC 259, one that ended via DQ. Sterling won the 135lbs title after Yan landed an illegal knee late in the fourth round that rendered Sterling unable to continue fighting. Referee Mark Smith called the fight off on the advice of the cage-side doctor, and Sterling was named the new UFC bantamweight champion. For many fans, it’s been hard to accept Sterling as a champion because many people felt he was losing the fight to Yan. At the time of the stoppage, Yan was up 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29 on the three judges’ scorecards, and he was winning the fourth round.