Former UFC champions Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling nodded to their controversial UFC 259 fight in a viral clip.
Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling found mutual respect after sharing the UFC Octagon for nine rounds of their careers. But their first fight featured a controversial finish at UFC 259, due to a Yan illegal knee that led to Sterling being accused of overselling the damage he suffered due to the infraction.
Yan made his first UFC bantamweight title defense against Sterling at UFC 259 in 2021. The then-bantamweight titleholder earned the belt by defeating UFC Hall of Famer José Aldo at UFC 251.
Yan wore down the challenger Sterling over the first three rounds of the fight and seemed destined for either a late finish or a decisive win on the judges’ scorecards. But in the closing seconds of Round 4, Yan landed an illegal knee to a grounded Sterling, resulting in Sterling being unable to continue fighting and being awarded the belt by disqualification.
It was an abrupt end to Yan’s title reign and a controversial title win for Sterling. After UFC 259, Sterling questioned Yan’s case for a rematch and some fans accused him of pretending to be hurt more than he was after the illegal strike.
Almost four years since UFC 259, Yan and Sterling put their past bad blood aside to poke fun at the abrupt end of their first matchup.
Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan poke fun at infamous UFC 259 fight finish
In a now-viral clip that Yan posted to his Instagram, Yan ‘awarded’ Sterling with an Oscar trophy, a nod to fans’ past accusations of Sterling overreacting to the illegal knee. Sterling seemed to take the joke in stride, and the two former bantamweight titleholders shared a laugh in the process.
Sterling will fill for Merab Dvalishvili in a Russian spinoff of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Yan. It’s arguably a more interesting coach vs. coach matchup after Sterling and Yan’s two clashes inside the Octagon and headline-filled history.
Yan and Sterling are both plotting their UFC returns for later this year. Yan was linked to a rematch with Dvalishvili after his most recent victory over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Macau.
Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan square off ahead of UFC comeback fights
Sterling, now a featherweight, is fresh off a unanimous decision loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 310. Despite the decisiveness of the judges’ scorecards, it was a razor-close fight from start to finish, but Sterling hinted at retirement in a post-fight podcast.
After Sterling defeated Yan by disqualification at UFC 259, they were scheduled for an immediate rematch at UFC 267, before Sterling withdrew due to injury. Yan defeated short-notice replacement Cory Sandhagen for the interim belt on the card.
Sterling defeated Yan at UFC 273 by split decision and went on to one of the best bantamweight title reigns in the promotion’s history. He defended the belt against TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo before a knockout loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292.
Years after the bizarre finish to their UFC 259 bout, Yan and Sterling are on mutually respectful terms ahead of their comebacks. Despite the mocking nature of Yan’s Oscar award, Sterling seemed to take the jab in stride, after years of a complicated relationship with the UFC fanbase.
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