Petr Yan has only ever lost one fight in the UFC. He was disqualified for an illegal knee when he faced Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 and it cost him the bantamweight belt.
The Russian subsequently accused Sterling of play acting and after winning the interim title at UFC 267 last night he had a very simple message:
Undisputed UFC bantamweight champion
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) October 30, 2021
It is clear that Yan does not recognize Sterling’s status as champion. The two were scheduled to rematch in Abu Dhabi this weekend but the American has a neck injury that looks set to rule him out for an extended period.
Yan recaptured the title, even if it was only an interim version, with a decision win over Cory Sandhagen. He sees himself as the real champion even though Sterling holds the regular version of the belt.
A rematch between Yan and Sterling seems inevitable and it will be a fight worth waiting for. There is certainly no love lost between the UFC’s two bantamweight champions.
