Aljamain Sterling channels his inner Khabib Nurmagomedov; teases 'father's plan' against Petr Yan at UFC 259
Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan have amped up the trash talk as the date of their fight edges closer. Aljamain Sterling is particularly confident about his grappling leading up to this fight. In the most recent Tweet directed towards Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling asserted that "father's plan" will surely help him defeat Petr Yan. He wrote,
"Too much talking brother. We will see in 2 weeks. Simple. Fathers plan will have you nervous, frustrated, and tired."
Aljamain Sterling is heavily influenced by UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov's fighting style. In fact, it is Khabib's late father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who is being referred to as "father" when Aljamain Sterling says "father's plan".
Khabib Nurmagomedov's style consists of extremely dominant grappling. Aljamain Sterling seems to be following suit with respect to strategy for his upcoming fight. He wrote,
"I just need one takedown. Fathers plan. Trust me, I’ve taken down bigger men then you [Petr Yan] with strong wrestling. I hope you’ve been eating your Wheaties my брат"
Aljamain Sterling did display his grappling prowess in his last fight against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 250. He started the fight off with a heavy focus on grappling. His smooth transitions helped him quickly lock in the rear-naked choke. Cory Sandhagen was unable to defend himself against the submission and tapped out. 'Funkmaster' won the fight via submission in just 1:28 of the first round.
Aljamain Sterling clarifies stance regarding Khabib Nurmagomedov
Fans on Twitter felt that Aljamain Sterlin was taking digs at 'The Eagle' by using the phrase "father's plan". However, Aljamain Sterling clarified that that is not the case. he wrote,
"If complementing the style of Khabibs, that I like to implement is a “dig”, then you’re a sad silly Willy"
Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan will lock horns in the main card of UFC 259. Petr Yan won the Bantamweight gold by defeating former champion Jose Aldo via 5th-round TKO at UFC 251. He is currently riding a 10-fight win streak.
On the other hand, Aljamain Sterling is riding a 5-fight win streak. He started fighting under the UFC banner back in 2014. Now, 7 years later, Aljamain Sterling gets his shot at gold.
UFC 259 will also feature two other title fights. In the main event, Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will attempt to secure another title as he shifts up a weight division to challenge Jan Blachowicz for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship.