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Petr Yan has been unceasingly firing shots at Aljamain Sterling since the latter was crowned the new Bantamweight champion last weekend. In a recent tweet, Aljamain Sterling clapped back at the Russian for demanding a rematch.
Following an illegal knee on a downed Aljamain Sterling in the Bantamweight title matchup at UFC 259, former champion Petr Yan was disqualified, and Sterling was declared the victor, taking home the 135 lbs strap.
This marked the first instance where the title changed hands courtesy of a DQ. In a recent interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani, Petr Yan wants an immediate rematch to rectify the blunder he made at UFC 259.
“UFC already reached out to me and asked when I’m ready to fight again. I already told them I’m ready, one month, two months time. Whenever they want to do it. Like I said I before, I was punished already for what I did. I already lost the belt and the PPV points and whatever comes with becoming a champion," said Petr Yan.
Petr Yan is adamant that the illegal knee on Sterling was not an intentional move. According to a previous report, Yan's corner had prompted him to do so, which ultimately cost him his UFC title.
"Everything happened because the referee told the commission that it was intentional. But I didn’t throw it intentionaly. Now, the rematch is the only logical thing. The rematch has to happen next,” said Petr Yan.
However, Aljmain Sterling isn't taking heat from Petr Yan and took a dig at the former champion on Twitter recently.
Petr Yan isn't happy with Aljamain Sterling's call-out for a Henry Cejudo fight next
Although Henry Cejudo announced his retirement from MMA last year at UFC 249, the former double champion didn't back away from throwing a jibe at the current Bantamweight contender. Following the UFC 259 fiasco, Triple C accused Aljamain Sterling for pretending to be hurt by Yan's illegal knee.
However, responding to Cejudo's criticism, Aljamain Sterling shared a video of his face-off with the former, which was posted by Sterling's teammate Merab Dvalishvili.
Petr Yan isn't happy with Aljamain Sterling rerouting his future plans and deviating from a rematch with him. Yan is of the notion that Sterling would have eventually lost at UFC 259 if the illegal knee hadn't landed.
“One time, he says one thing; different time he says different thing. Then, the staredown with Cejudo. Everything tells me he doesn’t want to fight me again. He understands he lost this fight; he understands it’s going to happen again. I feel like he doesn’t want to fight me again,” said Petr Yan.
