"I gave him those two rounds" - Aljamain Sterling confident he won fight with Petr Yan before championship rounds
Aljamain Sterling believes he got the better of Petr Yan in the first three rounds of their rematch at UFC 273.
On the latest episode of The Weekly Scrap podcast, the UFC bantamweight champion weighed in on his second fight with Yan. While 'Funk Master' admitted that he lost the championship rounds, he still believes that he comfortably won the fight.
"So that fourth round, I felt that I was comfortably up three rounds, with two possible 10-8 rounds. At least one, that second round... I literally gave away two rounds - the fourth and the fifth, trying to do jiu-jitsu... In my opinion, I gave him those two rounds and i still felt I comfortably won the fight."
Catch the full episode of the podcast below:
Sterling and 'No Mercy' competed in a razor-close championship fight in the co-main event of UFC 273. The fight ended with a split decision victory for 'Funk Master' as the three judges scored the contest 48-47, 47-48 and 48-47 in favor of the 32-year-old.
Sterling overwhelmed the Russian with his grappling skills in the second and third rounds. Yan bounced back and outperformed Sterling in the championship frames. The whole fight boiled down to who won what was a close first round. Like it did the judges, the result of the opening stanza has split opinion among fans.
#UFC273 Official Scorecard: Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMasterMMA) vs Petr Yan
All Tonight's Scorecards: ufc.com/news/official-… https://t.co/Pmnj7F4wqW
Daniel Cormier believes Aljamain Sterling would've still been champion even if he lost the first round
Daniel Cormier has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the Yan-Sterling rematch at UFC 273. During the latest episode of the DC & RC show, Cormier suggested that even if Yan won the first round, Sterling would've still been champion.
To reach that conclusion, the former two-division UFC champion scored the second round as a 10-8 for Sterling. He argued that the fight should've ended in a draw even if the judges gave the opening round to 'No Mercy'.
"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 [round] 10-8 for Aljo. So if you're arguing that round one goes to [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 & RC below:
Aljamain Sterling is now 2-0 against 'No Mercy', but it seems likely that MMA fans will get to see the pair fight inside the octagon for a third time before all is said and done.