Emotions have run high ahead of the UFC 273 rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. So high that they had to be separated during Thursday’s pre-fight press conference.
A day earlier, interim champ Yan, who lost the undisputed bantamweight title off an illegal knee in his first fight against Sterling, was in more of a jovial mood. Still, Yan was clear when it came to his thoughts on Sterling’s championship reign.
“In UFC history, there is no one who won the belt that way, but he still thinks he’s the champion,” he stated during the UFC 273 media day. “It’s absurd.”
And as much as Sterling has talked about improving and getting healthy, Russia’s Yan insisted that “I’m ready for everything. It doesn’t matter what he did, it’s only important what I’m going to do.”
One thing Yan doesn’t believe will be required is a third fight with Sterling, should Yan himself win on Saturday. “I don’t think there’s a need for a trilogy. I believe I beat him in the first fight too. It’s just, things happened.”
“Things” being a blatantly illegal knee, leading to the first time in UFC history that a title chanced hands off a disqualification. With that in mind, Sterling brought a self-penned “MMA Rulebook for Dummies” to Fight Week in Jacksonville, Florida ahead of the rematch.
Yan is clearly not amused. Asked about the rivalry with Sterling in terms of his legacy, the interim champ replied by saying “Let’s wait til Saturday and really see if he’s a really worthy rival or not. I have a long career ahead, and I believe I’m going to have a lot of more-worthy rivals. I think, right now the way he behaves, he doesn’t behave like a worthy rival or like a man.”
Watch the full UFC 273 media day appearance by Petr Yan above. The event takes place this Saturday, April 9, 2022 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
