"That was the most significant strike of the fight" - Aljamain Sterling explains why he was confident he won first round against Petr Yan

Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2 [Image via @funkmastermma on Instagram]

Aljamain Sterling claims he was confident that he'd won the first round of his UFC 273 title unifier against Petr Yan. According to 'Funkmaster', Yan did not land anything significant during the first round of their title rematch.

Sterling believes that he sufficiently outdid 'No Mercy' in terms of strikes landed, even though some might consider his strikes "light." 'Funkmaster' also claimed to have landed the hardest strike of the round, an elbow which stumbled the Russian. The 32-year old recently said on ESPN MMA's DC&RC show:

"So the way I'm counting it is, I'm actually landing the cleaner strikes that are actually sticking. And if you wanna call it a light strike, you call it a light strike. But when we're both throwing less than twenty strikes and I have atleast seven or eight more than he does, I think I easily win the round."

"Especially when I crush his head with that elbow that stumbles him backward, that's a hard strike. That was the most significant strike of the fight in that round, so, in my opinion I thought I was up three rounds comfortable and I even thought I had two 10-8 rounds."

Watch the segment and Sterling's appearance on the DC&RC Show below:

Daniel Cormier believes Aljamain Sterling deserved a 10-8 round

When Aljamain Sterling faced Petr Yan in their UFC 273 rematch, 'Funkmaster' dominated Yan on the ground in rounds two and three. However, the Russian was able to mount a comeback in the championship rounds.

Sterling won a closely-contested first round on two scorecards, earning a controversial split decision victory over Yan. However, Daniel Cormier claimed Sterling would remain champion even if the first round went to the Russian.

#UFC273 Official Scorecard: Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMasterMMA) vs Petr Yan

All Tonight's Scorecards: ufc.com/news/official-… https://t.co/Pmnj7F4wqW

Responding to people questioning the decision, Cormier argued that Sterling definitely deserved a 10-8 in round two. The 43-year old said in an earlier episode of DC&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 DC's take on Sterling's win below: