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Aljamain Sterling is adamant that Petr Yan once again employed questionable tactics during the UFC 273 rematch.
Sterling silenced his doubters by earning a legitimate win over Yan following their controversial first meeting at UFC 259. However, 'Funk Master' insists that Yan still didn't fight completely clean in their second clash.
Speaking to Nolan King of MMA Junkie, the undisputed UFC bantamweight champion looked back on the fight to assess what he could have done better. Upon pondering, Sterling accused his rival of deliberately pouring an excessive amount of water on his head to make himself "slippery."
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"For round four, I took him down and they didn't score my takedown and I jumped his back," Sterling said. "I shouldn't have done that. I should've just broke him down regularly and not be cool and get style points, which I want to get style points, but you know, we're slippery. He did pour a lot of water on his head in between those rounds, which I don't even know... That's not legal. I don't know how they didn't dry him off. But I slipped off the top and I accepted the bottom position instead of trying to get up. I could have gotten up."
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Watch Aljamain Sterling accuse Petr Yan of cheating:
Sterling earned a close split decision victory over the Russian thanks in large part to rounds two and three of the fight. During the stretch, 'Funk Master' outgrappled Yan and took his back, where he landed shots while threatening submissions.
However, Sterling wasn't as successful in implementing his game plan during the championship rounds. This could be attributed to Yan's reputation as a strong finisher, but 'Funk Master' insists that his opponent cheated.
Aljamain Sterling claps back at Dana White for favoring Petr Yan
During the UFC 273 post-fight press conference, Dana White revealed that he didn't agree with the judges' call in the co-main event.
Aljamain Sterling caught wind of White's comments and was obviously displeased. In an interview with BJPenn.com, Sterling responded to the UFC boss, saying:
"Dana’s always going to be throwing dirt on my name, that’s just what he does. I think he has Yan rated so highly, he’s such a dangerous guy, and to have the grappler do that to him, he was really, really shocked. Especially after the first fight because he probably thought I had no chance in hell of winning that fight either."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's interview below:
