"What are your plans on April 9th?" - Petr Yan asks Henry Cejudo to corner him at UFC 273 after his cornermen were denied visas
Petr Yan has asked Henry Cejudo to corner him in his title fight against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 273. Yan was left without cornermen for his upcoming title fight as they were denied visas.
Seeking Cejudo's help, 'No Mercy' wrote on Twitter:
"Hey coach @HenryCejudo what are your plans on April 9th?"
Check out the tweet below:
Hey coach @HenryCejudo what are your plans on April 9th? twitter.com/fightscoutapp/…
Responding to Yan, Cejudo's manager Ali Abdelaziz revealed that 'Triple C' will in fact be on cornering duty at UFC 273 on April 9. According to Albelaziz, the former UFC double champion will be in Jacksonville, Florida to corner Kelvin Gastelum, Mark Madsen and 'The Korean Zombie' for their respective bouts. Abdelaziz also feels that Yan's opponent Sterling will not be pleased with the news.
Check out Abdelaziz's tweet below:
twitter.com/petryanufc/sta…He is actually gonna be in Jacksonville cornering Kelvin Gastelum, Mark Madsen and Korean Zombie. Aljamain not gonna like this😂 twitter.com/petryanufc/sta…
Petr Yan's team being denied visas is another instance of measures taken by different governments across the world against the Russian Federation since its invasion of Ukraine.
Apart from economic sanctions, several sports leagues have pulled events from the country. Visa requests from Russian athletes have also been denied in some nations. However, according to reports, Yan will be able to enter the US as his visa is valid for three years.
Per Igor Lazonin from Russian Tass Agency, Visa request of all corners of Petr Yan was denied from US Government. Yan have 3 years US visa and can enter in United States to #UFC273
The feud between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling
Petr Yan's title unification bout against Aljamain Sterling will be a rematch following their first outing, which took place at UFC 259 last year. Despite leading on two of the judges' scorecards, Yan lost the bout via disqualification after landing an illegal knee in the fourth round.
'The Funkmaster' became the first fighter in UFC history to be crowned champion via disqualification. The two have repeatedly gone back and forth at each other since then, with Yan questioning Sterling's claim at the bantamweight strap.
While their upcoming bout was originally scheduled to headline UFC 272, it was moved to the UFC 273 co-main spot due to unknown reasons. Sterling blamed Yan, claiming that the bout was moved as the Russian was not vaccinated for COVID-19.
However, Petr Yan has vehemently refuted the claim and believes the UFC moved the bout as they didn't want Sterling to headline a card. 'No Mercy' wrote during a Twitter war with 'The Funkmaster' :
"Pathetic liar desperately trying to look good and control the narrative but it won’t work. I’m vaccinated and ready to bash you anywhere even tomorrow. UFC simply doesn’t want fake champion to headline the event."
Check out the back and forth below:
Pathetic liar desperately trying to look good and control the narrative but it won’t work. I’m vaccinated and ready to bash you anywhere even tomorrow. UFC simply doesn’t want fake champion to headline the event. twitter.com/funkmasterMMA/…
Confirms that he was told that they’re moving the fight because of Yan***
I fixed the headlines for you guys twitter.com/MMAFighting/st…
Lmao I’m only repeating what I was told from the bosses 🤷🏾♂️. Don’t get your potato tits in a twist! I’d happily fuc k you up tmw too. That can easily be arranged. Мышь twitter.com/PetrYanUFC/sta…