Aljamain Sterling is still the UFC bantamweight champion – and this time, he won fair and square.
In the UFC 273 co-headliner, Sterling (21-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) defeated former champion and multitime rival Petr Yan (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) to retain his title. The bout took place at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.
The first round was a technical feeling-out process, in which Yan appeared one step ahead. The challenger didn’t waste movement, remained calm, and threw mostly meaningful strikes. Sterling was a bit unorthodox in approach, as usual. While he landed a shot here and there, he didn’t land the volume or quality Yan did – even if the margin was slim.
