Last night at UFC 273, Aljamain Sterling crowned himself the undisputed UFC bantamweight champion. And he did it his way, capitalizing on a superior grappling arsenal to overcome fierce rival Petr Yan.
“This time, I did it the way I always wanted,” said Sterling. “I’ve felt like a champion for a long time, but this put a stamp on it.”
Returning after a 13-month absence from the sport, Sterling (21-3) defeated Yan by split decision in their bantamweight unification title fight. Conquering an opponent as talented as Yan (16-3) was particularly meaningful, especially considering that it was Yan who knocked Sterling out in their last fight with an intentional illegal knee to the head.