"I was a walking corpse" - Aljamain Sterling recalls first fight with Petr Yan ahead of UFC 267 rematch
Aljamain Sterling defeated Petr Yan via DQ (Disqualification) in the fourth round of their fight at UFC 259 in March 2021. The DQ resulted in Yan losing his UFC bantamweight title to Aljamain Sterling.
Yan appeared to be getting the better of Sterling in their closely contested fight until he landed an illegal knee that led to him being disqualified.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, the UFC bantamweight champion claimed that he was a “walking corpse” in his first fight against Yan. Sterling suggested that he was looking forward to the rematch.
“I feel like when you’re in there with someone, you kind of know what you’ve got. And if that was the best Petr Yan, that was the best he could do with this guy who was standing in front of him who was pretty much a walking corpse – I was a walking corpse, just throwing these pitter-patter punches that had nothing on it. I couldn’t put anything on it.”
“I was like, ‘Dude, this is all you’re going to get out of me right now. And if that’s all you can do, when I feel good, I like my chances. And that’s pretty much it. That’s why I’m like, I hope the fans are excited for this fight because if I were to make the same mistake I did in the last one, I’m just a complete moron and I deserve to get my a** kicked. So, I can honestly say that. But I truly do think, I get my body right, I’m going to be a problem for this guy.”
Ariel Helwani proceeded to ask Aljamain Sterling about the mistakes he made in the first fight against Petr Yan. The 32-year-old admitted that he was undernourished heading into the bout and short of "fuel."
Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2
Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is set to face Petr Yan in a rematch for the title at UFC 267.
The event will be headlined by a UFC light heavyweight title matchup between current champion Jan Blachowicz and challenger Glover Teixeira. UFC 267 will take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE on October 30th, 2021.