Aljamain Sterling accuses Petr Yan of ducking him, hints rematch could be delayed until April
Aljamain Sterling has no intentions of squashing his beef with Petr Yan. The UFC bantamweight champion recently accused the Russian of delaying their highly anticipated rematch.
Sterling, while answering fan questions on Twitter, revealed that the title unification bout between himself and Yan will not take place before April. He tweeted:
"Apparently it isn’t until April now. The potato can’t duck me forever!"
Apparently it isn’t until April now. The potato can’t duck me forever! twitter.com/kyleboomer619/…
Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan were expected to lock horns at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi last year. However, Sterling was unable to receive medical clearance to compete after lingering neck issues.
An interim championship fight was scheduled, and Yan fought a short-notice replacement in Cory Sandhagen instead. 'No Mercy' defeated the No.4-ranked contender via unanimous decision.
It was reported that a title unification bout would take place at UFC 272 in March. However, after Sterling's claims about the bout being delayed, the uncertainty surrounding the matchup is back.
I guess Cheotr and I, are even now in pulling out of fights for serious injuries. Oh wait… “personal reasons” isn’t an injury 🤣 I’m coming for your boy! Trust me!
tapology.com/fightcenter/fi… twitter.com/benginn_/statu… https://t.co/M1YDtMKHS7
Petr Yan slams Aljamain Sterling for the 'Cheotr Yan' tweet
Petr Yan slammed Aljamain Sterling for the demeaning tweet he put out against the Russian earlier this week. Sterling tweeted:
"For the record, I do not think every Russian fighter or athlete cheats. Just like every American, Brazilian, Chinese, or any other nationality of athletes, you have the clean and dirty ones. Personally I think Cheotr Yan is a dirty cheat. Maybe I’m wrong but I highly doubt it."
'No Mercy' took to Twitter to vent his anger and called the reigning bantamweight champion a "pathetic mouse." He replied:
"Fakemaster is looking for another fake excuse. Stop crying and start hiding pathetic mouse. The hunting season is officially open"
Fakemaster is looking for another fake excuse. Stop crying and start hiding pathetic mouse. The hunting season is officially open 🗡 twitter.com/funkmasterMMA/…
The two top bantamweights met for the first time back at UFC 259 where Yan entered the fight as the champion. However, after landing an illegal knee to the head of Sterling, the Russian was disqualified and 'Funk Master' was crowned the new bantamweight champion.
The bizarre end to the fight led to the bad blood that has continued to grow ever since the two locked horns last year.
Illegal knee in round 4 by Petr Yan! 😳
#UFC259 https://t.co/80voXid0Ch