"Aljo gave away two rounds" - Chael Sonnen reacts to Aljamain Sterling calling for 10-8 rounds in his fight with Petr Yan
Chael Sonnen has addressed Aljamain Sterling’s recent statements regarding his UFC 273 rematch against Petr Yan. Sterling defeated Yan via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) at UFC 273 on April 9.
Two of the three judges scored the first three rounds 10-9 each for Sterling, while rounds four and five were scored 10-9 in favor of Yan. However, the third judge scored rounds one, four, and five as 10-9 for 'No Mercy', whilst giving 'Funk Master' rounds two and three.
Despite being awarded a split-decision victory, Sterling subsequently voiced his disagreement with how the fight was scored. The UFC bantamweight champion claims that his dominant rounds, rounds two and three, should’ve been scored 10-8 rounds.
Sterling suggested that he thought he’d gotten a 10-9 in round one and 10-8 in rounds two and three, which is why he intentionally played it safe and gave up rounds four and five to Yan.
In an edition of Beyond the Fight, Chael Sonnen chimed in on Sterling’s statements. He explained that 'Funk Master' took a huge risk by giving up two rounds:
“It turned out that his equation was correct. But Aljo gave away two rounds. He needs three. Wanna talk about math? There’s a number – You need three. He gave two away. He needs to never, never, never do that again.”
'The American Gangester' further added:
“Last week, he said that he should’ve had two 10-8 rounds; that one of the reasons that he did sail it in rounds four and five is not only did he know he was up three rounds, he thought he had two of those that was 10-8. Okay, great. He had that part wrong, but he had the three-two right. So, he’s safe.”
Watch Sonnen's full take in the video below:
Will the UFC schedule a trilogy fight between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan in 2022?
The first Sterling-Yan fight took place at UFC 259 in March 2021. It ended in a DQ (Disqualification) after Petr Yan landed an illegal knee, with Aljamain Sterling thereby emerging victorious and becoming the UFC bantamweight champion.
Their rematch transpired at UFC 273 earlier this month, with Sterling as the UFC bantamweight champion and Yan as the interim UFC bantamweight champion. As noted, 'Funk Master' beat Yan via split decision. Given how close the fight was, many have called for a Sterling-Yan trilogy fight.
Nevertheless, the consensus is that their third encounter is unlikely to materialize this year. Instead, Aljamain Sterling is expected to defend his belt against T.J. Dillashaw. However, it remains unclear as to who Yan will fight next.