Even with their UFC 267 fight being canceled, Petr Yan is still blocking any attempted attack from UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling.
One would be hard-pressed to think of a more intense feud in MMA right now than the one shared by Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. The rivalry began with an illegal knee at UFC 259 by then-champion Petr Yan that prompted a stop to their title fight and the crowning of a new champion. After Yan initially apologized, he quickly reneged after a photograph of Sterling with the championship belt seemingly celebrating the victory with friends surfaced online.
Since then, the trash talk and animus between the bantamweights has been nonstop. The expectation was for the two to settle their beef and the dispute of who is the world’s best bantamweight at UFC 267 in the rematch. Unfortunately, Sterling had to withdraw from the bout due to lingering health issues following a recent neck surgery.
Yan has already commented on the matter, calling Sterling a “sneaky coward” and refusing to wait for him any longer. Sunday, Sterling took to Twitter to provide an update on his rivalry with Yan, which now has no apparent end in sight.
“Pussy blocked me after talking shit about me and my fiancée. Guess he was upset I didn’t respond the way he wanted me to. #NoMercy,” the tweet reads, which in part referencing Yan’s nickname of “No Mercy.”
Petr Yan responded to Sterling’s accusation late Sunday evening with the following tweet:
“Stop lying I will never say anything bad about someone’s family. And yes you are blocked until you will grow the balls to fight me, for now I’m done wasting my time on you coward.”
Sterling would then fire back, being more specific on the nature of Yan’s alleged remarks.
“You posted a fucking screen shot picture of my fiancée and I hanging out, saying I have a new job. I guess I’m lying then, because somehow you don’t consider that family. Like I said we WILL FIGHT AGAIN. I’m not rushing back to prove how tough I am, you dumb luck”
There is currently no timetable set for Sterling’s UFC return. Meanwhile, Yan is adamant about remaining on the UFC 267 card and facing whomever the UFC puts in front of him. This puts a future bout between Yan and Sterling into question, as a Yan loss would obviously take him out of the title picture for the time being. Hopefully, though, for everyone’s sake, they will be able to settle their differences at one point, no matter how long the wait.
