Petr Yan has revealed that there were many issues going on, coming to the fight. He has said that the flight problems, visa issues, and even training were huge factors coming to the fight.
Yan said via Instagram “There were different problems, with the flight, with the visa, during training I flew away for a visa deadline, lots of factors”
Fortunately, the fighter is optimistic that the fight will just be delayed in a little over a month. He said that training continues and everything is good as of now. The pandemic may have been a factor in the travel issues as it may have been difficult to get out of his country.
Meanwhile, Aljimain Sterling is looking for an interim title fight but will likely not happen since no contender is available. If the fight is delayed by a little over a month, it is still good for fight fans. Much better than injuries that will let the fighter heal up for a long time.
Interim? 👀
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) November 22, 2020
Luckily, the UFC 256 card is still stacked and will be fun to watch. Tony Ferguson vs Charles Oliveira fight is the co-main event and is easily a fight night event caliber fight. It showed that Michael Chandler was just all talk when Ferguson called him out but Chandler declined.
Aljamain Sterling also had a say in the canceled fight with which he tweeted, that he accepts the situation. He hopes that the Bantamweight Champion is well and will both fight soon.
Everything happens for a reason. I hope everything is good with you and your family .@PetrYanUFC We will settle our business when you can be 100% focused and ready to give the fans the best show we can.
See you soon. 🎒— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) November 22, 2020
The said fight was originally booked as the co-main event of UFC 256. It was then upgraded to the main event because Amanda Nunes pulled out of his fight against Megan Anderson.
Sterling’s last fight was against Cory Sandhagen, and it was a title eliminator. Sterling had an impressive win and finished the fight in under 2 minutes of the first round. He showed great wrestling and grappling skills that may be his key to win the title.
As Sterling said before, Yan has only one way of winning and that is in the striking department while Sterling has a lot more tools to win. Sterling can also strike and grapple so it will be difficult to beat him.
But Yan has shown that he is the best in the division when it comes to striking. He has knocked down almost all his opponents and even avenged his lone loss. Sterling’s last loss was also via knee from Marlon Moraes. Yan is capable of knocking out Sterling using his superior striking abilities.
Petr Yan has shown that he is a talented striker, if you look closely in his fights. When he knocked out Urijah Faber, he changed a supposed knee strike to a front kick in the last second. This move is not easy to do and not everyone has this type of reflex.
When he fought Jose Aldo to win the title, he showed that he was superior to Aldo’s striking. Aldo is already a proven GOAT due to him being a complete fighter, longest featherweight champion. But Yan just knocked him out.
Yan vs Sterling fight will be entertaining fight, both fighters are the clear top 2 of the division and no other contender comes close as of this moment. Cory Sandhagen has shown interests in fighting TJ Dillashaw next year, that may be the next title eliminator.
