‘Hypocritical B**ch’- Petr Yan Slams Rival Aljamain Sterling for Hurling Illegal Punches In Their First Fight

Posted on by Matt James

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan took to Twitter and called-out his arch rival Aljamain Sterling just days away from their title fight rematch. Both men have engaged in a contentious war of words in the lead-up to UFC 273. Given the controversial way their first fight ended, it’s no surprise that there’s no love lost between both men.

Recently, Petr Yan accused Aljamain Sterling of being a hypocrite while sharing a video of ‘Aljo’ landing an illegal strike on Yan during their first fight. The strike landed at the back of Yan’s neck and the blow is seemingly ignored by the referee.

Yan’s claims of hypocrisy stem from the fact that Sterling has called out the Russian fighter of being a cheat and a poor sport. This recent video grab clearly indicates that Petr Yan hasn’t appreciated the accusations levied against him.

A look back at UFC 259: Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling

This highly-anticipated scrap was technical right off the bat with Sterling getting the upper hand right off the bat. Petr Yan is known for being a slow starter and ‘The Funkmaster’ aimed to capitalize on this by setting a even-keeled pace.

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Sterling landed 260 total strikes in the contest, however, his significant strike tally rounded out at 97. In stark contrast, Yan began to pick up steam after the second round and majorly improved on his strike conversion rate.

Yan landed 103 out of 157 total strikes and was able to convert for 86 out of 137 significant strikes. Chiefly, this is consistent with the way Petr Yan fight and it’s likely he’ll likely look to replicate his approach heading into the rematch.

According to several MMA pundits, Aljamain Sterling is now wise to Yan’s slow-starter approach and will look to play out the contest at a staggered pace.

It remains to be seen if Sterling will make the necessary changes as the rematch rolls around in a matter of a few days. One thing is certain, the true bantamweight champion will be defined once the sun sets down on UFC 273 in the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.