Petr Yan Calls For Rematch Following UFC 273 Loss: “I Got Robbed. I Want A Rematch”
UFC 273 saw Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling close the door momentarily on their ongoing rivalry. For the time being, the score was settled over a five-round battle, in which Aljamain Sterling edged on the judged scorecards via split decision.
The highly anticipated rematch came after Sterling received the UFC bantamweight championship by defeating Petr Yan by disqualification last year. The victory didn’t sit well with fans, and his fellow competitors, due to the theatrics from Sterling. The Russian landed an illegal knee flush to the head of a downed Sterling, who after, was unable to continue, resulting in him becoming the undisputed champion. Sterling was the official champion on paper. Still, many believed Yan was still the ‘real’ champion.
With the way Sterling attained the belt, the UFC booked an immediate rematch. However, Sterling was forced to withdraw and faced over a year on the sidelines with a career-threatening neck injury. In the meantime, Yan faced and defeated Cory Sandhagen for the interim bantamweight championship, which set up last night’s rematch with Sterling.
Aljamain Sterling Edges Split Decision Over Petr Yan at UFC 273
In an extremely closely contested bout, Sterling edged a split decision victory over Yan. Many had the fight scored in Sterling’s favour and vice versa for the Russian. Yan thought he had done enough to secure the victory and wasn’t pleased with the outcome.
“I think I won this fight and I got robbed,” Yan expressed to Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview. “I think I won three rounds out of five.”
It was clear that Sterling won rounds two and three, with Yan taking rounds four and five. All three judges agreed. The outcome was all down to how the judges scored round one, and two of the judges scored the first round for Sterling, which edged him the split decision victory.
Yan looked incredibly frustrated at the outcome and continued to make his claim for a rematch.
“I want rematch. I want rematch.”
What’s next for both men is currently unknown, but during the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White stated that T.J Dillashaw is most likely to be the next challenger for Sterling. Dillashaw was in attendance and welcomed the challenge after Sterling made the call out in his post-fight interview.
It’s looking like Yan will have to put together another win or two before being granted another crack at UFC bantamweight gold.
Petr Yan Post-Fight Octagon Interview
What did you make of the decision? Let us know how you had the co-main event scored?
