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Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling Trade Jabs on Social Media

Published 02/21/2021, 10:55 AM EST

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UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan is set to defend his belt against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259. This will be the Russian’s first defense as a UFC champion. Sterling, on the other hand, will look to make the most of his first shot at UFC gold. With two up-and-coming contenders fighting in their prime, the bout is expected to be a banger.

‘Funkmaster’ and ‘No Mercy’ haven’t spared each other on social media as they have been trading in back-and-forths for some time now. After Sterling posted a video of his training captioned Round 5,” Yan responded, which resulted in a chain of tweets from both fighters.

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Yan responded to Sterling’s tweet, saying their fight won’t go the distance. To this, Sterling responded by mentioning his wrestling pedigree and showed confidence in taking the champion down.

Next, Sterling claimed he only needs one takedown, and he doesn’t like the too much talking on Yan’s part, which the latter promptly dismissed.

Terling is certainly a menace on the ground. But Yan is very explosive and is a vicious striker who has the ability to knock anybody out in the division. So, both men will look to exploit their potential advantage over the other for sure.

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Petr Yan or Aljamain Sterling: who will have the upper hand?

The fight is pretty evenly matched. ‘Funkmaster’ showed what he is capable of with his tremendous victory over Cory Sandhagen. But Yan is no pushover, as he proved his mettle when he defeated Jose Aldo at UFC 251. Both have the ability to finish the fight at any moment. Also, if it goes the distance, both men would be more than willing to showcase their supreme conditioning.

via Getty

Both the champion and the challenger have been perennial in the division. Yan is looking to establish himself as the bonafide featherweight kingpin. A win over ‘Funkmaster‘ will certainly brighten his stars. The same goes for Sterling if he wins, as the Russian is fast becoming one of the most recognizable faces in the UFC roster.

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What did you make of the virtual faceoff between the two top bantamweights? Let us know your thoughts.

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Written by:

Apratim Banerjee

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Apratim Banerjee is an MMA author for EssentiallySports and has been writing professionally for almost a year. Before his current gig, Apratim worked as a UFC writer for Sportskeeda. A long-time MMA fan, Apratim has developed a critical eye for the sport that has helped him transfer his vast knowledge to his copies and give hardcore and casual readers a detailed insight into the fights and fighters.
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