Petr Yan feels it’s time for Aljamain Sterling to get his shot at UFC gold.
On July 11, Yan took on Jose Aldo on the main card of UFC 251. Aldo put up a fight but Yan’s ground-and-pound was relentless. He eventually scored the fifth-round TKO victory. This bout was contested for the vacant UFC bantamweight championship, so Yan is the new 135-pound ruler.
Petr Yan Says Aljamain Sterling Should Get Title Shot
Yan spoke to reporters following his UFC title win and he expressed his belief that Sterling should be next in line (via MMAJunkie).
“I want to take a rest now, recover, go back to my homeland to see my family, and then it’s the work of my management team,” Yan said. “In my first 18 months, I had six fights. I’ve never said no to an offer, so I’ll probably find out soon. … I think October will be a perfect time.”
“I think Aljamain Sterling deserves to fight for the title,” Yan said. “He’s on a good streak. He beat a lot of good guys.”
Sterling is coming off a quick submission victory over Cory Sandhagen. This was a huge win for Sterling as many thought the bout with Sandhagen would come down to the wire. Sterling a riding a five-fight winning streak.
UFC president Dana White didn’t commit to booking Yan vs. Sterling next following UFC 251. During the post-fight press conference, the UFC boss said he’ll work on who will challenge Yan during a meeting with the UFC brass this week. Sterling took to his Twitter account to tell White to stop playing games.
