In a shocking turn of events, former Bantamweight champion Petr Yan was disqualified due to an illegal knee on a downed Aljamain Sterling during their UFC 259 fight. The ref called a stop at 4:29 of round four, and a visibly unwell Sterling failed to rise to his feet. Soon after, the fight was called for Sterling as the first ever win via DQ in UFC title history.
The fight was an explosive affair, with Sterling kicking off round one with explosive kicks and an early takedown against the cage. But as the rounds wore on, Yan’s championship experience and patient style began to outperform Sterlings incredible athleticism. Several takedowns and a notable massive right in round two shifted the momentum, Yan walking the wrestler down through round three and into four. with less than 40 seconds left in said round, Sterling shot in for a takedown that Yan defended. Sterling put one knee down, and Yan proceed to knee the downed fighter.
According to Khabib Nurmagomedov, there to corner Islam Makhachev, in a statement to the commentators, Yan’s corner gave him the green light to kick from the corner in Russian.
A visibly shaken Sterling tearfully apologized to the fans in a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
“I never wanted to win like this,” Sterling said.
Due to an intentional foul, @FunkMasterMMA is the new bantamweight champion. #UFC259 pic.twitter.com/AlNLboFIlr
— UFC (@ufc) March 7, 2021
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