Daniel Cormier explains why Aljamain Sterling would still be champion even if Petr Yan won first round of UFC 273 rematch
Daniel Cormier recently offered fans some insight into the scoring of the bantamweight clash between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. Sterling beat Yan via split decision in the co-main event of the recently concluded UFC 273 pay-per-view.
While in conversation with Ryan Clark on the latest edition of DC & RC, Cormier argued that even if Yan had won the first round, the fight would have ended in a draw. This would have resulted in Sterling retaining his title and 'No Mercy' walking away empty-handed.
"It all boiled down to one round of the fight and it was round number one. But here's where people are so confused in regards to the scoring of this fight. We have no consistency in judging RC. Round two was a 10-8 round for Aljamain Sterling. I mean anybody with two eyes should be able to judge that fight 10-8 for Aljo. So if you're arguing that round one goes to [Petr Yan] we got a draw. Aljo still keeps the title, right? Nothing changes. We're back at square one."
Watch the latest edition of DC & DC below:
Aljamain Sterling dominated Petr Yan in rounds two and three. 'No Mercy' bounced back in the fourth and clearly won the final two frames. Two judges scored the first round in favor of Sterling and the dissenting judge gave it to Yan.
#UFC273 Official Scorecard: Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMasterMMA) vs Petr Yan
All Tonight's Scorecards: ufc.com/news/official-… https://t.co/Pmnj7F4wqW
Aljamain Sterling vows to remain atop the bantamweight division for quite some time
Aljamain Sterling silenced his doubters at UFC 273, beating bitter rival Petr Yan in a much-anticipated rematch. In their first fight, Yan landed an illegal strike which saw the then-champion get disqualified.
In the aftermath of his recent win over Yan, Sterling took to social media to declare that he plans on staying atop the bantamweight division for a long time. Replying to a fan's tweet, the 135-pound champion wrote:
"They cant really think that I'm done already, right? Grab yourselves a few beers. We're gonna be here for a while."
twitter.com/MMAFanInAVan/s…
They cant really think that I'm done already, right? Grab yourselves a few beers. We're gonna be here for a while 😃 twitter.com/MMAFanInAVan/s…
In his post-fight interview, Sterling called out former two-time UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw. Dillashaw is coming off a narrow decision win over Cory Sandhagen and could be next in line for a title shot. Meanwhile, in Yan's post-fight interview, the Russian called for a trilogy bout with 'Funk Master'.