The current UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, will return to action against his nemesis Petr Yan at UFC 267 in October. In a recent interview with fightingalerts, Ray Longo confirmed the rumors flying around of Sterling facing off against Yan for a rematch, putting his title on the line. Subsequently, he gave a speculated date for the fight as well.

The first time when these two athletes locked horns was at UFC 259. In that event, Sterling won the title by disqualification in round 4 after Petr Yan landed an illegal knee to his head.

Subsequently, Sterling underwent neck surgery for an unrelated issue. Now, he revealed he’s days away from getting clearance to get back into training and will be ready to fight in the fall.

Ray Longo confirms Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan II will happen

In an interview with fightingalerts on Instagram, Longo made the official announcement for the fight. “That will happen, yes. Late October, like October 30th,” Longo said on the podcast.

Alex Behunin

@AlexBehunin

·Follow

Ray Longo confirmed that Sterling vs. Yan II will be going down on October 30 at #UFC267! He spoke to fightingalerts on IG.

Watch on X

7:18 PM · Jul 8, 2021

38

Reply

Copy link

Read 1 reply

Sterling spoke with MMA Junkie Radio earlier this week where he said that he liked the idea of the match. However, he revealed he is not comfortable traveling to the location for the fight. UFC 267 may take place in Abu Dhabi.

“To be 100 percent honest with you, I love the date, but I don’t love the location. Mainly because of the hours we would have to fight at. I just had one of my worst performances – maybe not the worst – but I had some hiccups on fight day because I didn’t realize how much into the day I fought. … It would’ve been nice to fight in New York or Vegas again. But Oct. 30, I’m good with that,” Sterling admitted.

ALSO READ: “I’m Going to Kill This Man” – Conor McGregor Details Changes in Training Camp for the Dustin Poirier Trilogy

Both the athletes have not competed in a competitive battle since their last encounter. The second bout will surely give the impression of who is the better fighter between them. Who will you support at UFC 267?