Aljamain Sterling is getting ready for the rematch with former bantamweight champion Petr Yan at UFC 267. Their first meeting, which took place at UFC 259, saw Petr Yan comfortably dominating the challenger. However, the bout came to an unfortunate end, with Yan landing an illegal knee on Aljamain Sterling in the fourth round.

As a result, Aljamain Sterling automatically became the winner by disqualification. Soon after receiving the belt in such an unusual manner, Aljamain Sterling took to social media to post a photo of him and his family celebrating his becoming champion.

Considering the manner in which he’d won the title, fans and members of the MMA community were quick to criticize ‘The Funk Master’ for celebrating the hollow victory.

Many fans also felt that Sterling had overreacted to the knee and that since his CAT scan and MRI tests didn’t reveal any concussions, he’d cheated his way to the belt.

Interestingly, in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, ‘The Funk Master’ gave his take on the entire situation, making the following statement.

” The aftermath was partially of what happened when I got back from the hospital, after being cleared that I had no bleeding in my brain. So, everyone, that’s saying ‘Oh, you didn’t have a concussion’. CAT scans and MRIs of the brain don’t reveal concussions. So for all my doctors out there, you guys are such idiots. CAT scans, show bleeding of the brain, which is what I got because I took a shoot I did not see. They wanted to make sure I was okay.” 

Heading into the rematch, Sterling has adopted the persona of a heel character and will hope to silence all his haters and doubters come fight night.

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Aljamain Sterling vs Petr Yan – The rematch

Although the first fight between the two saw Petr Yan having his way with Sterling the entire time, one can expect the rematch to be more competitive.

Going into the first fight, Aljamain Sterling was coming off a six-fight win streak while dealing with a severe neck injury. ‘The Funk Master’ has undergone surgery for the same and claims to be feeling better than ever.

One can only imagine how such a serious never injury would have affected his entire performance. And considering the slew of opponents, he’s beaten before there is little doubt regarding his caliber as a top bantamweight.

Petr Yan, on the other hand, will come for Sterling with a vengeance, having lost the belt because of a foolish mistake. Once and for all, the fans will get to witness these two settle the unanswered question once and for all; Who is the top Bantamweight in the division?

What do you think? Who wins the rematch? Let us know in the comments.

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