"The ref saved me from myself" - Aljamain Sterling glad he wasn't allowed to carry on after Petr Yan's illegal knee

Aljamain Sterling is grateful to the referee for saving him from himself after he was illegally kneed by Petr Yan at UFC 259. Sterling claims that he did not quit and is grateful to the referee for not allowing him to continue.

'The Funkmaster' also believes referees should be more severe in punishing illegal strikes. In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Sterling told Ariel Helwani ahead of his UFC 273 rematch against Yan:

“Thankfully, the referee and doctor saved me from myself because had they given me five minutes, I would have continued the fight… they stopped the fight, and thankfully they did... Honestly, being that compromised as I was going into the fight, getting punched in the head repeatedly and then getting illegally kneed in the head with a strike I didn’t see coming. That fight isn’t getting any better for me. People can say whatever they want; I didn’t roll over; I didn’t quit. The referee saved me from myself, and I’m very, very appreciative of that.”

Watch Sterling's interview with Helwani below:

Aljamain Sterling challenged Petr Yan for the bantamweight title at UFC 259 in March last year. Yan was leading on two of the judges' scorecards when he landed a devastating illegal knee on his downed opponent in round four.

Referee Mark Smith called the contest at 04:29 of the round, deeming Sterling unable to continue after consultation with the ringside doctor. 'The Funkmaster' earned a DQ win over the Russian and became the first in UFC history to be crowned champ via disqualification.

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Aljamain Sterling claims he will dominate Petr Yan in their rematch

Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan were previously scheduled to meet at UFC 267 last year. However, 'The Funkmaster' pulled out to undergo neck surgery. He was replaced by Cory Sandhagen, who 'No Mercy' dominated in the interim title bid. Sterling and Yan will now clash in a title unification bout that will serve as the co-headliner at UFC 273.

Sterling is not only confident about winning the bout but is looking to dominate Yan in their upcoming encounter. Responding to a critic, the 32-year old wrote on Twitter:

“It’s fascinating how terrified humans are to try to excel in life. Your fears are NOT mine. Your thoughts and shit opinions, also are NOT mine. I will win and I will dominate. Half you thumb pushers will never relate to confidence in the work you put in. Enjoy the show."

Check out the tweet below: