Petr Yan has punishment on his mind going into the new year.
As the UFC calendar prepares to flip the page into 2022, one of the expected matchups on the horizon is the bantamweight championship unification bout between Aljamain Sterling and interim titleholder Yan.
The bad blood between the two is legitimate, stemming from the controversial first meeting at UFC 259 in March, when Yan (16-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) cost himself the belt by getting disqualified with an illegal knee strike on Sterling (20-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC).
A rematch between the two was briefly booked for UFC 267 in October, but Sterling was not medically cleared to compete after undergoing a neck surgery following the first bout. Yan instead fought Cory Sandhagen and won a unanimous decision to claim the interim belt, and now the stage is set for the rematch with Sterling next year.
It’s clear that fight is prominent in Yan’s mind because he issued a reminder of his intentions on social media (via Twitter):
Friendly reminder that Alga is my bitch. This time I will destroy this little whiner even more impressive.
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) December 26, 2021
Friendly reminder that Alga is my bitch. This time I will destroy this little whiner even more impressive.
An exact timeline for the grudge match between Sterling and Yan has not been revealed at this time. It’s clear the champion is looking forward to it happening sooner than later, though, because Sterling offered a Christmas Day update of his training and hinted he’s looking at the first quarter of 2022 for his title defense (via Instagram):
There’s a Christmas ass whooping waiting for Yan, early 2022! See you soon, my Russian nemesis
The coming year could be a big one at 135 pounds. Once the title is unified, the likes of T.J. Dillashaw, Jose Aldo and more are filling the queue for a crack at gold.
Petr Yan vows to destroy ‘my b*tch’ Aljamain Sterling in UFC title unifier
