"You f**ked Aljamain Sterling over" - Brendan Schaub slams Dana White for saying judges got it wrong in Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2
Brendan Schaub slammed Dana White for claiming that the judges were wrong to award Aljamain Sterling the undisputed UFC bantamweight title at UFC 273. According to the TUF alum, White should have watched the fight more than once before making such a claim.
Schaub also believes it was harsh on Sterling, whose legitimacy as the champion might be questioned once again. The 39-year-old recently said on his YouTube channel:
"So, Aljamain won the first round, completely dominated the second round, completely dominated the third round, definitely lost the fourth round, fifth round was close but I'll give it to Yan. That's three out of five, that would make him [Sterling] world champion. But when you are the president of the UFC you have a responsibility. So when you say the judges got it wrong on that one, well now you have f***ed Aljamain Sterling over."
Watch the latest episode of The Schaub Show below:
Brendan Schaub explains why Aljamain Sterling won the first round
Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan duked it out in a closely contested bout in the co-headliner of UFC 273. After going back-and-forth in the opening round, 'Funk Master' went on to dominate rounds two and three. However, 'No Mercy' survived several rear-naked choke attempts and bounced back in the championship rounds.
In the end, Sterling was crowned the undisputed champion via a controversial split decision which was decided by the first round.
According to Brendan Schaub, Sterling won the opening round based on UFC's judging criteria. Schaub explained that Yan only had octagon control to his advantage, which is the last criteria for judging. The former UFC heavyweight explained further by stating:
"Let's go to the numbers because remember, the last thing being judged is octagon control. So strikes landed and who's doing the most damage. So let's go to the first two things that matter the most; Petr Yan landed I think two kicks in the first round, Sterling landed more shots, threw more shots. I didn't come up with a criteria. I don't come up with the judging, you guys did. Based off that criteria, Aljamain won that first round."
Sterling started the action with a body kick before Yan threw two leg kicks of his own. While 'Funkmaster's first takedown attempt was foiled by the Russian, Sterling went on to land enough kicks to the body to win the round.
Per the official stats, 11 of Sterling's 19 significant strikes in round one were to the body. However, 7 of his 13 significant strikes to the head. Aljamain Sterling threw a total of 20 strikes in round one and landed 19. Petr Yan threw a total of 13 strikes and landed 12.