Aljamain Sterling reveals his keys to victory in upcoming Petr Yan rematch

Aljamain Sterling has opened up about the keys to victory in his highly-anticipated rematch against Petr Yan. Speaking to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports!, Sterling outlined his plans to beat ‘No Mercy.’ When asked about how he’ll neutralize Yan, Sterling stated:

“I think the main thing that I have to neutralize, if I’m being transparent, I just think, just not letting the guy set the tone of the fight. And I think I do a very good job of that with my pressure, my pace, going forward, blending in the takedowns. Even if I don’t get it, people don’t understand; there’s an art to getting a takedown. There’s an art to fighting."

"It’s not just I’m only going to shoot if it’s a clean takedown. Sometimes, you need to break up the tempo, switch the momentum, and stifle a guy against the cage, or stifle him in the clinch, and just kind of freeze the action.”

‘Funk Master’ added that when you freeze the action, you look for other openings, wear on your opponent, and discourage them from recklessly coming forward, which changes the fight’s outcome. Sterling highlighted that mixing things up and being unpredictable is paramount in MMA. He indicated that anyone can throw basic punching combinations like Yan and look good.

Sterling lauded ‘No Mercy’ for his hand speed and power but opined that they only work against a stationary target. ‘Funk Master’ suggested that he intends to be a moving target, mixing in his level-changes and takedowns, and feign takedowns to come up with strikes.

Watch Aljamain Sterling’s conversation with Kevin Iole in the video below:

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Josh Thomson on Aljamain Sterling’s immense potential

Sterling beat Yan via DQ (Disqualification) in their first fight to win the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 259 in March 2021, courtesy of an illegal knee thrown by the Russian fighter. UFC bantamweight champion Sterling is scheduled to face interim UFC bantamweight champion Yan in a rematch at UFC 273 on April 9th.

Former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson recently chimed in on Aljamain Sterling’s accomplishments thus far. On the Weighing In podcast, Thomson admitted that although Sterling won the title in controversial fashion, he’s still a phenomenal fighter. Alluding to the 32-year-old Sterling’s potential, Thomson said:

“Overall – and it should be said – he’s phenomenal. He’s good on the feet. He’s good on the ground. He’s still young. He’s got a lot of room to grow; not just as a fighter, but as a person. And I think he’s just going to continue to get better with a little bit of age. And his fight IQ will start to grow as well.”