The next bantamweight title fight has been booked as Petr Yan announces that he has signed the bout. He also added that this time he won’t play with his prey like the last time when they faced each other.
UFC 267 bout agreement signed. Time to return what’s mine. No games with my prey this time.
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) August 21, 2021
In their first fight, many thought that Yan might have the striking advantage but it will be dangerous to grapple with someone as good as Sterling. Yan ended up not engaging with Sterling in the early parts of the fight but once he knew that he was better in grappling as well he started clowning Sterling. It was at that moment when he was clearly winning the fight, he threw an illegal knee strike that lost him his title.
Many are saying that Sterling was acting to get away from the fight but it was not his fault that Yan threw that knee. It was such an unfortunate ending but it was not Sterling’s fault. After the fight, Sterling went on to say that he did not deserve to have the belt wrapped around his waist but ended up celebrating the title.
The UFC decided to book a rematch for Yan vs Sterling 2, this will end the argument on who truly is the undisputed champion. Yan may have been the fighter in their first encounter but the fight was not over. Anything can happen inside the Octagon. Sterling also went on to say that the canvas was slippery that night. Is he making up excuses or was it really true?
