Recently-crowned UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan and top contender Aljamain Sterling recently got into a heated argument on social media regarding the outcome of their upcoming title clash at UFC 256 on December 12.
Both fighters took to Twitter to debate who will come out on top once the cage doors close behind them at UFC 256. The duel started when Aljamain Sterling claimed that his counterpart Yan knows that "Funk Master" will be a tough test for him inside the Octagon.
"@PetrYanUFC knows I’m a tough fight and I know Petr is a tough fight. At the end of the day someone has to lose and that’s just the sport. I can’t wait to see who is right and who is wrong on December 12," said Sterling on Twitter.
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In a sharp response to Sterling's comments, Petr Yan asked him to stop assuming that he will be a tough challenge. The Russian fighter further claimed that he believes he will put Sterling "to sleep" on December 12.
"Why you care about what i think of you so much? Stop telling people what I know. All I know is I’m putting you to sleep on December 12," retorted Yan.
Sterling then returned the favor with a witty response. Wishing Petr Yan luck for the fight, Funk Master concluded by saying that following the fight, he'd like to meet the Russian over a few glasses of beer and discuss how he ended up taking the title.
"A real student of the game becomes his opponent to understand the ways that he can win. Good luck, safe flight, and see you soo! I’ll bring beers to your room and we can talk about how I did it," Sterling clapped back.
Can Petr Yan establish himself as the most dominant bantamweight in the UFC?
Petr Yan became the new king of the bantamweight division by brutally stopping former featherweight champion Jose Aldo via a 5th round TKO at UFC 251 back in July.
Former champion Henry Cejudo announced his retirement after defeating Dominick Cruz to retain the bantamweight title at UFC 249, leaving the division without a champion. It was then that a matchup between Yan and Aldo was booked with the vacant 135lbs title on the line.
Now that Petr Yan heads into his first title defense against a legitimate challenger in Sterling, we'll soon find out whether the Russian's reign as champion continues into the next year or ends up being a short-lived one.
Aljamain Sterling will finally get the much-coveted crack at the 135lbs title when he takes on Petr Yan in the final UFC pay-per-view of 2020. Sterling is on an impressive 5-fight win streak inside the Octagon and will look to become the new champion by stopping Yan at UFC 256.