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UFC welterweight Michael Chiesa believes Petr Yan will do just fine without a cornerman for his upcoming fight against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 273.
Ahead of the pay-per-view, Chiesa spoke to Paul Felder on the UFC Round-Up show. At one point during their interaction, the welterweight contender talked about the bantamweight title unification match that is going to take place on April 9.
Yan's coaches were denied US visas for the fight. Commenting on the situation, 'The Maverick' stated that 'No Mercy' does not need people in his corner to defeat Aljamain Sterling:
"The only thing that I think could really play against [Petr Yan] right now is this cornering situation because I know he had visa issues with one of his cornermen... I think the man could go in there and fight without a cornerman and be just fine. I think he's that good. I think the guy could go into the octagon and just as long as somebody could throw a water bottle over the fence so that he could get a little swig, I'm sure he'd be fine without a cornerman. He's an assassin."
You can watch the full episode of the UFC Round-Up show below:
Henry Cejudo and Sean O'Malley pull back their offers to be in Petr Yan's corner
When news broke of Yan's cornermen being denied entry into the United States, Sean O'Malley and Henry Cejudo offered to help the Russian in his fight.
However, Petr Yan's recent comments during his appearance on Ariel Helwani's show, The MMA Hour, did not sit well with 'The Messenger' and O'Malley. Both have withdrawn their offers to be in Yan's corner.
While Cejudo responded to Yan's comments via Twitter, O'Malley pulled out his support during the TimboSugarShow podcast:
"I wouldn't corner that f*****g... I don't care if he wins."
Watch the full episode of the TimboSugarShow podcast below:
The first fight between 'No Mercy' and Sterling ended in a disqualification win for 'Funk Master'. Yan hit Sterling with an illegal knee in the fourth round, handing the then-challenger the bantamweight belt.
The Russian went on to win the interim title against Cory Sandhagen. Now, both he and Sterling will look to unify the bantamweight title at UFC 273.
