UFC president Dana White has claimed the judges "blew" the decision to crown Aljimain Sterling champion with victory over Petr Yan.
The pair had previously shared the octagon last year at UFC 259 with the fight ultimately ended early after Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee after having controlled the large majority of proceedings. However he was left empty-handed with Sterling given the nod with two judges scoring the bout 48-47 for Sterling, while the third went 48-47 Yan.
White has confirmed he had Yan in a narrow lead on his scorecard, but a rematch will be there for the Russian in the future. “I thought the judges blew that one,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “I had it 3-2 (for Yan). I don’t know how you guys scored it. It’s all in however you score that first round. “That fight will be there, Petr Yan is one of the baddest dudes in that division, (but) you probably do the T.J. fight.”
Yan began the fight on the front foot but was overly keen in his attack as he headbutted Sterling who struggled with the early pace. Sterling then controlled the second period trying to pin Yan from his back, and was searching for the submission but the Russian managed to resist.
Sterling once again proceeded to look for openings by wrestling from the back of Yan, with the Russian desperate to avoid any unnecessary take down. After the American's control Yan fared much better in the fourth stanza and was able to engage, with the decision very much up for grabs going into the tight final stanza.
Yan appeared to edge the final round after showing great takedown defence on multiple occasions, before establishing his own ground-and-pound. However the judges handed Sterling the narrow nod with one official scorecard having Yan in the lead.
How did you score the contest? Let us know in the comments section below
No.2 ranked contender TJ Dillashaw is likely to now be in line for a shot at the champion Sterling after his victory, despite Yan declaring that he wanted a rematch after claiming he won four of the five scheduled rounds.
Sterling is now on a seven-fight winning streak that stretches back to April 2018, including two consecutive victories over Yan. Dillashaw will now look to challenge for the title in his second fight since being handed a two-year USADA drug suspension, after scoring decision victory over Cory Sandhagen.
Also on the card, Khamzat Chimaev ousted Gilbert Burns over three-rounds in a sensational welterweight encounter to continue his sharp rise. In the main event of the night, Alexander Volkanovski retained his featherweight title with fourth round stoppage victory over Korean Zombie.
Irish prospect Ian Garry picked up a second-UFC victory over Darian Weeks in a fight that failed to spark the imagination, with Mackenzie Dern edging closer to a title shot after marginally outpointing Tecia Torres by split decision.
