Aljamain Sterling cited a neck injury as the reason behind his withdrawal from his UFC 267 bout against Petr Yan. The rematch was scheduled to go down on October 30.In the wake of the development, 'Funk Master' found himself on the receiving end of a significant amount of flak. However, Adrian Yanez recently jumped to his aid.In a series of posts on social media, Yanez went toe-to-toe with someone who is popular on the combat sports circuit, 'The MMA Dude'. The Twitter user claimed that Aljamain Sterling was fit enough to participate in "hard sparring sessions," yet is not fit enough to fight in the octagon.Yanez subsequently asserted that there was a difference between getting medical clearance and sustaining an injury.Adrian Yanez@yanezmmaOh no, I'm not saying this to be loyal. I'm just speaking what I know is truth. Just who I am.But also, getting medical clearance and being injured are 2 different things. twitter.com/philthemmadude…The MMA Dude™@philthemmadude@yanezmma He’s hard sparring with an injured neck. I understand you have to say all of this because you need to stay loyal to your gym and your teammates and I respect that. I respect you. But don’t shoot the messenger. Aljo is hard sparring with an injured neck, that’s what I said.01:05 AM · Oct 12, 202147519@yanezmma He’s hard sparring with an injured neck. I understand you have to say all of this because you need to stay loyal to your gym and your teammates and I respect that. I respect you. But don’t shoot the messenger. Aljo is hard sparring with an injured neck, that’s what I said.Oh no, I'm not saying this to be loyal. I'm just speaking what I know is truth. Just who I am.But also, getting medical clearance and being injured are 2 different things. twitter.com/philthemmadude…It's not the first time Adrian Yanez has clarified Aljamain Sterling's statusAdrian Yanez stifled any and all reports of Aljamain Sterling tumbling out of active competition after suffering an injury to his neck.While in conversation with Jordan Ellis of LowKick MMA, the surging bantamweight prospect claimed that Aljamain Sterling will most definitely find his way back to the octagon following a full and successful recovery from the neck surgery he underwent earlier this year.“He is definitely going to be back. Even after just moving around with him on the Wednesday. He told me his schedule and how he was doing it, how everything kind of planned out. He literally almost didn’t train for about a week and then he comes back and he feels better. And whenever I moved around with him, he’s like [nods]. Oh, he’s feeling a lot better." Catch LowKick MMA's interview with Adrian Yanez below:Yanez offered some detailed insight into Aljamain Sterling's road to recovery. He subsequently went on to assert that the champ should take his time before he steps back into the octagon.Aljamain Sterling's inability to compete against Petr Yan has forced the UFC to set up an interim title fight between the Russian and Cory Sandhagen. That clash will go down at UFC 267 on October 30.