At UFC 273, Aljamain Sterling won his second fight with a split decision. There is a time and a place for this.
Aljamain Sterling is the undisputed bantamweight champion.
Undisputed. Kind of.
The last laugh on the critics and the last laugh on the fans was given to Sterling, who pulled out a razor- close split decision over his opponent. The 135-pound title fight, which was supposed to end any controversy left over from the initial meeting between the two, co-headlined UFC 273 inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Some people scored the fight inYan's favor. Two judges had it 48-47 for the victor, while a third had it 48-47 for the loser. Even though the Jacksonville crowd booed the decision to disqualify Yan for an illegal knee, he seemed to enjoy the win.
He brings out the best in me, and he was a tough opponent for me. He beat me in the first fight. This is for the people who keep writing me off.
As the scorecards were read, he looked incredulous.
He said through a translator that he thought he had won the fight.
The man from Long Island, New York, clearly won the second and third rounds, as he took the man down and immediately took his back. He landed punches to the side of the head and looked for a rear-naked choke that never came, but he racked up control time and easily took the rounds.
Late in the fight,Yan responded. He began making him pay for failed attempts. According to UFC Stats, the two attempts that Sterling did convert were huge, asYan was unable to get back up.
Based on his defensive wrestling and strikes, the later rounds appeared to go toYan. He spent a lot of time in the top position. The first round was close. The takedown defense was good, but so was the striking defense.
Dana White said at his postfight news conference that he thoughtYan should have gotten the decision.
The judges blew that one, White said. I guess it is all about how you scored that first round.
After the fight, which officially brought his record against Yan to 2-0, Sterling called out former champion TJ Dillashaw, who relinquished the belt after he tested positive for erythropoietin and received a two-year suspension. There was a fight in Florida. He came back from his suspension and beat Sandhagen.
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