"When I went back and watched it as a judge, it's razor-close" - John McCarthy changes stance on Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan outcome after evaluating the first round

Aljamain Sterling defeated arch-rival Petr Yan via split decision in their rematch at UFC 273 on April 9. The MMA community has been divided in its opinion regarding who deserved the win on the judges’ scorecards.

Former MMA referee John McCarthy had initially suggested that Petr Yan won round one of the UFC 273 matchup. Two of the judges scored that round in favor of Sterling, which was pivotal in deciding the winner. Sterling disagreed with McCarthy and subsequently criticized him for his stance on the fight.

In the latest edition of the Weighing In podcast, McCarthy spoke to former UFC lightweight and co-host Josh Thomson, and revealed that he revisited the UFC 273 fight. McCarthy appears to have changed his stance. Emphasizing that the fight’s first round could’ve gone either way, he stated:

“I went back and watched the first round. And I will say this, I say it all the time, ‘Don’t sit there and talk to your friends and watch a fight and think that you judged it correctly.’ Because, I was talking to my friends. And when I went back and watched it as a judge, it’s razor-close."

"It can go either way. And I can understand where someone looks at Aljamain and gives him the round. And I can look at where you can say that, yes, Yan won the round. It really comes down to what you give credit for, and this is the difference."

McCarthy explained that Aljamain Sterling had a higher output of strikes but it was Yan who landed the more powerful strikes in round one. He reiterated that the round could’ve been scored for either Sterling or Yan. He also acknowledged that Sterling deserved to be awarded the decision for his performance in the fight as a whole.

Watch John McCarthy and Josh Thomson revisit the Sterling-Yan rematch in the video below:

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MMA legend Jose Aldo calls out Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling now holds two wins over the fearsome Petr Yan, having beaten him via DQ (Disqualification) at UFC 259 in March 2021 and via split decision at UFC 273 this month. Sterling said that he’d like to defend his UFC bantamweight title against T.J. Dillashaw next.

Regardless, former UFC featherweight champion and current UFC bantamweight elite Jose Aldo has thrown his name into the title mix. Challenging Aljamain Sterling to fight him next, Aldo tweeted:

“@funkmasterMMA u said I would be next on merit and I’m here accepting your challenge, @danawhite send me the contract soon before he changes his mind!!”