He didn't make adjustements, I gave him positions - Aljamain Sterling claims he "gave away" rounds 4 and 5 to Petr Yan in UFC 273 fight

Aljamain Sterling doesn't credit Petr Yan for winning the championship rounds of their UFC 273 title fight. 'Funk Master' instead blamed himself for giving away rounds four and five to Yan.

According to Sterling, he was confident of having won the first three rounds and was only concerned about avoiding a knockout in the later rounds. The 32-year old claims that 'No Mercy' did not win the championship rounds because of any adjustments the Russian had made.

'Funk Master' recently told Daniel Cormier in an appearance on The DC&RC Show:

"In my head I easily skated away with that fight and I kind of gave away round four and five. Someone was trying to tell me Yan made adjustments. I'm like, 'Dude, he didn't make any adjustments. I hung out and gave him those positions.' Cause in my head, the same thing I thought in the first fight, 'If I could win the first three rounds, I could stall the last ten minutes and win the fight.' It's kind of what I did with this one. I'm like, 'Man I am comfortably winning, I don't need to do too much, just don't get knocked out.'"

Watch the full interview with Sterling on The DC&RC Show below:

While Aljamain Sterling dominated Petr Yan in rounds two and three of their title bout at UFC 273, the Russian managed to mount a comeback in the championship rounds. The eventual split decision was based on the first round, which Sterling won on two scorecards.

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The three opponents Aljamain Sterling is considering for his next fight

Aljamain Sterling has a few opponents in mind for his next title defense. While UFC president Dana White believes T.J. Dillashaw is next for Sterling, 'Funk Master' sees former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo and former featherweight champion Jose Aldo as worthy contenders as well.

Interestingly, Sterling has considered a bout against Jose Aldo and Henry Cejudo but believes Dillashaw will be the easiest fight sylistically. The 32-year old recently said on Instagram:

“I feel like the easiest fight out of all three is T.J. Dillashaw if I’m being 100 percent honest. I don’t want to say easy, like disrespectfully. Like easy, like in terms of my style vs. his, I think I would have more success against him than the other two, but that’s just my personal opinion."

Check out the post below:

With Henry Cejudo re-entering the USADA testing pool, the probability of a showdown between 'Triple C' and 'Funk Master' is quite high. However, the former two-division champion is hoping to secure a title shot against Alexander Volkanovski in hopes of becoming the first fighter to hold belts in three weight classes.