Aljamain Sterling is eager to pick up the shards of his broken engagement with Petr Yan at UFC 256 and construct a clear picture of who is truly the best bantamweight in the world.
UFC bantamweight top contender Aljamain Sterling had been lobbying for a world title shot long before the bantamweight title bout between himself and Petr Yan had been made official. So when the bout was scrapped weeks prior to the event, Sterling was devastated because it meant that his long wait for a title opportunity would be prolonged even further. He even briefly entertained an interim fight before realizing that he and the fans deserve some true resolution on who’s who at 135.
“I don’t want an interim fight,” Sterling told ESPN recently. “I want to fight the champ so we can get some clarity in this division and figure out who the hell is the best guy in this division once and for all, and then we can finally keep things moving.”
Many fans may feel that there is already clarity on who the best guy in the division is. After all, Petr Yan won the vacant bantamweight championship fair and square when he TKO’d Jose Aldo at UFC 251. But Aldo was 0-1 in the division while Sterling had finalized his five-fight winning streak after defeating names like Jimmie Rivera, Pedro Munhoz, and Cory Sandhagen, a list which Aljamain Sterling believes is more impressive than Yan’s recent wins over Jose Aldo, Uriah Faber, and common opponent Jimmie Rivera. Thus, there are still some unanswered questions on who truly is the best according to Sterling.
“I think he had an easy path to the title,” Sterling said. “He did his job. The UFC put guys in front of him, he knocked them down. I did the same thing, but I think I fought stiffer competition. So I think I’m the uncrowned king, and I just wanted my opportunity to prove it. That’s really it.”
Aljamain Sterling would then go on to state that he does expect his bout with Petr Yan to be rescheduled soon, as Yan is a “man’s man” who will not look for any excuse to not show up. Yan’s recent comments about the fight being rebooked within the next two months support Sterling’s confidence in the inevitably of the fight that will lend Sterling his chance to prove that it is he who is the best bantamweight in the world.
Do you believe Petr Yan has had an easy path to the bantamweight championship?
