5 reasons why Aljamain Sterling can beat Petr Yan at UFC 273

Can Aljamain Sterling find a way to defeat Petr Yan in their bantamweight title rematch

This upcoming weekend sees UFC 273 take place and in the event’s co-headline bout, Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan will finally rematch for the UFC bantamweight title. The clash comes a year after Yan lost his crown via disqualification.

The last time Aljamain Sterling fought Petr Yan, he was being dominated despite winning via disqualification, so can he turn things around this time?

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It definitely won’t be easy for ‘Funk Master’, as Yan is an exceptional striker who looked tremendous in his most recent fight, a win over Cory Sandhagen. However, if Sterling can make the correct adjustments, then there’s no reason why he can’t pull off what would be a substantial upset to hold onto the title.

Here are five reasons why Sterling can defeat Petr Yan at UFC 273 to retain the UFC bantamweight title.

#5. Aljamain Sterling will know what to expect from Petr Yan this time

Sterling will know what to expect from Petr Yan in their rematch

While there’s no disputing the idea that Aljamain Sterling was behind on the scorecards in his title fight with Petr Yan before winning by disqualification, that shouldn’t mean he comes into this rematch without confidence.

In fact, ‘Funk Master’ will have a slight advantage this time around in that he’ll know exactly what to expect from ‘No Mercy’ and can come up with a gameplan with his team accordingly.

Sure, the same can be said for Yan, but the Russian didn’t have to contend with Sterling’s ground game, which is his strongest aspect. In contrast, Sterling took the best shots that Yan had to offer last year and he was only stopped by a strike that was completely illegal.

Now that he knows exactly how Yan fights, ‘Funk Master’ will almost certainly be more prepared for what the Russian can bring and will probably be planning some way of implementing his ground game this time around.

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So, if he can make the correct adjustments, this is not an impossible fight for Sterling by any means. In fact, there’s every chance that he can find a way to win.