Aljamain Sterling calls Petr Yan's interim bantamweight title a "fake a** belt"
![Aljamain Sterling (right) faces off with Petr Yan (left) after the UFC 259 press conference [Image Credit: via @funkmastermma on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/02/8594e-16440145236461-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aljamain Sterling has called Petr Yan's interim title a "fake a** belt" on social media.
It was revealed on Friday that UFC 273 will take place in Jacksonville, Florida. In ESPN MMA's Twitter post, the bantamweight duo are seen holding their respective belts. Sterling, the UFC bantamweight champion, took offense. He quote-tweeted the post and asked for Yan's interim title to be removed from the image.
"Take that fake a** belt off Yan [vomiting emoji] #Actor #Актер"
Take that fake ass belt off Yan 🤮 #Actor #Актер twitter.com/espnmma/status…
Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan fought for the first time at UFC 259 in March 2021. Yan, who was dominating the fight, landed an illegal knee on Sterling to become the first UFC titleholder to lose his belt via disqualification.
The rematch was set for UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi last year. Sterling, however, pulled out of the bout citing lingering neck issues. Cory Sandhagen stepped in on short notice to unsuccessfully challenge Yan for the interim bantamweight title. 'No Mercy' came away with a unanimous decision victory to set up a title unification bout with Sterling.
Aljamain Sterling is tied for the longest active winning streak in the 135 lbs division at six
The majority of the MMA community feel Petr Yan is the real champion of the UFC's 135-pound weight class, considering the nature of his DQ loss to Aljamain Sterling last year. Somehow, many have seemingly forgotten just how good Sterling is.
'Funk Master' was riding an impressive five-fight winning streak before the much deserved title fight at UFC 259 against Yan. He is now tied with his training partner Merab Dvalishvili for the longest winning streak in the UFC bantamweight division, having racked up six straight victories each.
#UFC266's Merab Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) ties Aljamain Sterling for the longest active UFC win streak in the bantamweight division with his sixth consecutive victory at 135 lbs. His overall UFC win streak is at seven.
Sterling was also a bantamweight titleholder at the Cage Fury Fighting Championships and Ring of Combat. He holds a 20-3 professional record in his MMA career. His three losses came at the hands of Bryan Caraway, Raphael Assuncao and Marlon Moraes. The American hasn't lost a fight since December 2017.