The beef between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan has reached an all-time high. The two fighters (one American, the other Russian) have turned political as Sterling has repped the Ukrainian flag and is cornered by a Georgian fighter. Yan has, in turn, threatened to kill Sterling and his team, on sight.
Just your basic MMA trash talk, right?
“If we see his team, we kill [all his] team. Right now, not Saturday,” Yan said during his UFC 273 pre-fight media day interview.
Sterling, unbothered by the threats welcomed a hotel run-in with Yan.
“I have not seen him, I honestly kinda want to see him just to see what would happen,” Sterling said in his media day interview. “I’m calm, cool, collected, so I go off the energy he’s gonna bring. If he thinks it’s gonna be on, I’m ready. I’m more than ready. I’m ready now and I’m ready Saturday. If you really wanna do something, I’m right here. I’m in the same hotel as you… you can find me. If you want, I can give you my room number.”
The rivalry runs deep and stems from even before things got ugly. The lead up to their first fight was fraught with tension which spilled over when Sterling was handed the title after Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee.
Now, we finally get to see the rematch and settle the score once and for all.
Aljamain Sterling unfazed by Petr Yan pre-fight death threats ‘I’ll give you my room number’