"It seems like he got pregnant or something" - Petr Yan responds to Aljamain Sterling claiming he would dominate 'No Mercy'
Petr Yan has fired back at Aljamain Sterling after the latter claimed that he’ll dominate Yan in their rematch, which will be underway this weekend.
In the latest edition of The MMA Hour, host Ariel Helwani was interviewing Yan when he played a video of Sterling, who was on the show last week. The video featured the reigning UFC bantamweight champion outlining his plans to dominantly defeat his Russian counterpart.
‘Funk Master’ warned that he’ll take Yan down, smash him and choke him out in their rematch. Responding to the same, 'No Mercy' harked back to his first fight against Sterling, which transpired at UFC 259 in March 2021.
Their first fight witnessed Yan land an illegal knee to Sterling’s head in the fourth round, which forced the referee and the octagon-side doctor to intervene. They determined that ‘Funk Master’ wasn’t fit to continue, handing him the win and the championship via disqualification to Yan.
The doctor has called off the fight after speaking to Aljamain Sterling, who was struck with an illegal knee by Petr Yan at #UFC259 https://t.co/oRLduQfraV
Speaking to Helwani, Yan suggested that Sterling pretended to be hurt. Communicating with the help of a translator, he stated:
“I think he wouldn’t be able to do it. He wouldn’t be able to take me down and choke me out. I think the stuff he said just gonna stay in his head. It’s gonna stay his dream. And he’s a clown. Everything he has to do is just talk.”
Yan added that after he beats Sterling, the latter will probably come on Helwani’s show again and talk more. ‘No Mercy’ continued:
“Remember the moment when the referee and the doctor entered the cage, his eyes was all over the place. It seems like he got pregnant or something. I feel like if he really wants to, he can really get pregnant. He can do everything in his head.”
Watch Petr Yan’s appearance on The MMA Hour below:
Aljamain Sterling believes he can make it look easy against Petr Yan at UFC 273
Aljamain Sterling is set to face Petr Yan in a title unification matchup at UFC 273 on April 9. Speaking to Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, Sterling asserted that he’s confident about winning because of the work he’s put in.
Sterling alluded to not being at his physical best in their first fight, whilst admitting that he’ll give Yan his props if he beats him when he (Sterling) is at his best. ‘Funk Master’ said:
"I do think I'm going to win 100%, and I do think there's a very good chance I could make this look f**king easy. There's is a very good chance I could make this look f**king easy. And I'm excited about that. That gets my blood going."
Watch Aljamain Sterling preview his upcoming bout with Petr Yan below: