Aljamain Sterling hopes that he’s the one to knock Petr Yan off his perch.
Yan is set to meet Jose Aldo for the vacant UFC bantamweight championship. UFC president Dana White says that Sterling will face the winner. This comes after the “Funk Master” scored a quick submission victory over Cory Sandhagen. While many expected the fight to be competitive, Sterling showed that at this stage he’s simply on another level.
Sterling Wants A Crack At Yan
Sterling gives credit where it’s due. He thinks Yan is a formidable foe but at the same time, he believes the soon-to-be title challenger and potential champion is the product of hype. Here’s what Sterling told reporters during the UFC 250 post-fight press conference (h/t MMAJunkie).
“And Petr Yan is a tough dude himself, but I just don’t think he’s … I don’t know, he’s good, I’m just not sold on him yet. I think there’s some question marks to be answered, and I don’t know. Maybe this one is going to answer those questions.
“I’d love to be the guy in the position to take out the boogie man that everyone thinks. I’m like, ‘Dude, he’s a f*cking person. He bleeds just like everybody else. I don’t give a sh*t.’ It’s different when you have a good wrestler who’s confident in his abilities. I can strike, I can wrestle, I can do jiu-jitsu. There’s black belts, and then there’s black belts. And I’m a Serra BJJ black belt.”
Sterling is riding a five-fight winning streak. He’s also gone 7-1 in his last eight outings. He sits at number two on the UFC bantamweight rankings pre-UFC 250. He hasn’t suffered a loss since Dec. 2017 when he was brutally knocked out by Marlon Moraes.
