UFC 259 final fight stats: Petr Yan surrenders title to Aljamain Sterling via DQ

The first of three UFC title fights on the UFC 259 pay-per-view card was the only fight where a title changed hands. It was also the only fight on the card that ended via a disqualification. In that contest Petr Yan surrendered his UFC bantamweight title to Aljamain Sterling after referee Mark Smith disqualified Yan following an illegal knee to a downed opponent. The call came at the 4:29 mark of the fourth round.

Sterling started the fight with a lot of activity and pressure. Almost immediately the fight commentators — Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik — wondered if the challenger could keep up his pace. That answer came soon enough, as Sterling slowed as the fight continued.

Yan appeared to be in control and heading toward a win in the fourth round. As the clock ticked down, Sterling found himself on the mat with Yan standing in front of him. The referee told Yan that Sterling was a downed opponent. Six seconds later, with no other word from Smith, Yan unloaded an illegal knee that dropped Sterling and brought an immediate pause to the fight.

After what felt like a long time, Smith called the fight. He then gathered Sterling and Yan in the center of the cage and with Yan raising his hand, Bruce Buffer announced Sterling as the winner via disqualification.

UFC 259 took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view event streamed on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+ and early prelims on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass.

Below are the final fight stats for the matchup between Yan and Sterling.