Aljamain Sterling believes he got robbed of "at least one 10-8" round against Petr Yan
Aljamain Sterling believes he deserved 10-8 in at least one round of his title fight against Petr Yan in the co-main event of UFC 273. Despite winning via a controversial split decision, 'Funkmaster' thinks he was robbed of a 10-8 score.
According to Sterling, Yan's best hope was a draw, even if a judge was 'crazy' enough to score the opening round in his favor. Hitting back at critics, the 32-year old recently told Nolan King of MMA Junkie:
"I won a clear cut decision and somehow somewhere people are grasping at straws to try to say that this man beat me. It's fascinating. I got robbed of two 10-8s. At worst, one 10-8 round. Even if someone was crazy enough to score that round for Yan, the first, at best the fight's a draw for him. You know, that's his best hope. Like, the guy did not win the fight."
Watch Sterling's interview with Nolan King below:
After going back and forth in the first round, Aljamain Sterling schooled Petr Yan on the ground in rounds two and three during their UFC 273 rematch. The Russian, however, managed to survive multiple rear naked choke attempts and mounted a comeback in the championship rounds.
All three judges scored the second and third rounds 10-9 in favor of Sterling and gave the final two to Yan. It all came down to the opening round, which judge Christopher Lee gave to the Russian while judges Sal D'Amato and Eliseo Rodriguez gave it to 'Funkmaster'.
#UFC273 Official Scorecard: Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMasterMMA) vs Petr Yan
All Tonight's Scorecards: ufc.com/news/official-… https://t.co/Pmnj7F4wqW
Daniel Cormier says round 2 was a 10-8 round for Aljamain Sterling
In the immediate aftermath of Aljamain Sterling's decision victory over Petr Yan, UFC president Dana White opined that the judges had got it wrong. However, many from the MMA community who believed that Sterling won the fight fair and square voiced their support for the champion.
According to former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier, Sterling would remain champion even if the first round went to Yan. Cormier believes the second round was an obvious 10-8 in favor of 'Funkmaster', which would make it a draw if the Russian won round one. The UFC Hall of Famer said on the DC&RC Show:
"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 full episode of DC&RC below: