Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling set for UFC 256 co-main event, Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson to headline

Petr Yan is set to make his first defense of the UFC bantamweight title opposite Aljamain Sterling in the co-main event of UFC 256.

UFC President Dana White announced this exciting news in an interview with Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports. He also confirmed that Amanda Nunes’ featherweight title defense against Megan Anderson will serve as the card’s main event.

I did an interview with @danawhite a few minutes ago. He confirmed that @PetrYanUFC v @funkmasterMMA will be co-main event of UFC 256 on Dec. 12 in Vegas. Nunes-Anderson will be the main.

— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) October 14, 2020

“I did an interview with Dana White a few minutes ago,” Iole reported. “He confirmed that Petr Yan v. Aljamain Sterling will be co-main event of UFC 256 on Dec. 12 in Vegas. Nunes-Anderson will be the main.”

UFC 256 is scheduled for December 12 in the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas. The card was originally slated to be headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Kamaru Usman and challenger Gilbert Burns, but that plan fell through due some lingering Usman injuries. With Usman out, the UFC then began a search for a new main event, ultimately promoting Nunes and Anderson into that spot, and adding this newly announced Yan vs. Sterling co-main event.

Petr Yan captured the vacant UFC bantamweight title with a TKO defeat of featherweight Jose Aldo in July, becoming the division’s new ruler after its former champ, Henry Cejudo, retired earlier in the year. Prior to his win over Aldo, Yan won his first six bouts in the UFC’s Octagon, most notably defeating Urijah Faber, Jimmie Rivera, and John Dodson.

Aljamain Sterling, meanwhile, will enter this fight with Yan having last fought in June, when he picked up a first-round submission win over the highly-regarded Cory Sandhagen. This win brought his current streak to five-straight, as he’s also recently beaten Pedro Munhoz, Jimmie Rivera, Cody Stamann and Brett Johns.

Who do you think will come out on top when Petr Yan attempts to defend his title against Aljamain Sterling in the co-main event of UFC 256 on December 12?