"He was beating my a**" - Aljamain Sterling discusses how his first fight with Petr Yan played out

Aljamain Sterling admitted that Petr Yan could have won their first fight if the Russian hadn't kneed him intentionally at UFC 259.

In his most recent interview with Ariel Helwani for MMA Hour, Sterling discussed how his first fight against Yan played out. The UFC bantamweight champion said:

"He's a tough dude, I always give the fighters and my opponents respect. He could have won the fight, he was on his way of dominating. He started to pull away, he was beating my a** all of the fourth round. I still landed two head kicks right before I shot in and then he kneed me in the head. He was beating my a**, that's a fact."

Sterling added:

"But this is all his fault because he's that stupid. Do you want a champ that doesn't know the rules and tries to get away with sly dirty s***? To each his own. But this is all on him, he's the reason we're in this situation to begin with. I'm sorry that he didn't abide by the rules. I'm sorry that he's a f****** moron."

Watch Aljamain Sterling talk about his first bout against Yan below:

Aljamain Sterling went on to blame 'No Mercy' for putting the bantamweight division in such a tough spot. Sterling had to pull out of his scheduled rematch against Petr Yan due to lingering neck issues that he is dealing with. 'Funk Master' was set to fight Yan at UFC 267 on Fight Island next month.

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The rivalry between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan

Aljamain Sterling faced Petr Yan several months ago at UFC 259 in a title bout. The former bantamweight champion was dominating the entire fight and was inches away from being victorious against Sterling.

However, the tables turned in the fourth round as an illegal knee strike by Yan to his downed opponent rendered Sterling unfit to continue. The Russian fighter lost that bout via disqualification, making 'Funk Master' the first fighter in UFC history to become a champion via DQ.

Both of these fighters have been going back and forth on Twitter ever since their first bout and it does not seem like the bad blood between the two is going to end anytime soon.