A. Sterling gets emotional after successfully defending the bantamweight belt Photo: Reproduction/Combate
This time there was no illegal blow, there was no controversy, but the champion was the same. In the co-main fight of UFC 273, aljamain sterling silenced the critics, won Petr yan in a split decision by the judges and remained the lineal bantamweight champion (up to 61,2kg). The show took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, in Jacksonville, Florida (USA).
With the triumph and retention of the belt, Sterling recorded his sixth consecutive victory in the organization and, despite the controversy of the last fight, he confirmed his position as owner of the category. His last defeat was in December 2017, against the Brazilian Marlon moraes. 'Aljo' now has a record in the sport of 21 positive results and three negative results.
Former division champion, Yan was unable to regain his throne and suffered his second defeat in the last three fights. At 29 years old, the Russian has a record of 16 triumphs and three setbacks as an MMA professional.
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The fight
Without touching gloves before the start, the two athletes already showed that the atmosphere would not be friendly in the Octagon. After a few seconds of study, Sterling tried to take down, but Yan rejected the attack. Yan dominated the center of the Octagon, while Aljo tried to push him away using high kicks. The linear champion continued to insist on this blow, however, he received a more powerful one from Yan, around 2:30 of the first round.
Sterling used his jabs to score, but without hitting Yan in a hard way. The Russian continued to surround the North American, but found no clear spaces to attack. The first round ended at a slow pace.
In the first second of round two, the two fighters closed the distance and exchanged blows again, as if there was no tomorrow. After much insistence, Sterling managed to take Yan down and went to the back to try and get a rear naked choke. Aljo continued hitting his opponent from behind and trying to secure the finish. With much insistence, the American continued his saga, this time, hitting the Russian with punches and elbows.
Aljo was hitting his opponent hard, who was just fighting to survive the North American's dominant round. Sterling alternated between trying for a rear-naked choke and striking the Russian's head and remained so until the end of the round. The moment was complicated for the Russian.
The third half began a heavy exchange of kicks between the two athletes. Now it was Yan who tried to get closer and came to take down the North American, but he was unsuccessful. Aljo once again took down Yan and went to the back, in a scenario similar to the first two rounds. Sterling manages to put his arm around the Russian's neck, but lacks the strength (or skill) to finish.
Petr yan He fought but had great difficulty getting out of the 'lock' applied by Sterling. The North American completely dominated his rival, however, this time, without much force in his blows. The third round was coming to an end.
Yan started the fourth round with intense pressure on Sterling, who seemed surprised by his attitude. Aljo attempted a takedown in response, but failed. The North American makes an incredible transition to try to take the back, but ends up falling with it on the ground. From the top in mount, Yan starts striking Sterling and stopping the linear champion's momentum. Even without intensity, the Russian managed to take the fight to the fifth round.
The interim champion began the fifth round by landing a kick on Sterling, who felt it and soon after went down. Yan tried a blitz, but landed a short shot on his rival's face. Aljo stuck to the Russian's back, who soon left his position. Petr took more of the initiative in the fight and seemed not to feel tired. Sterling turned his back on the Russian and got into a four-point position. Yan grabbed Aljamain's back and ended the fight by striking his opponent's face. END OF FIGHT!
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