Aljamain Sterling isn’t surprised that UFC president Dana White believes Petr Yan beat him.
Bantamweight champion Sterling (21-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) edged out Yan (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) by split decision this past Saturday at UFC 273, but White thinks the judges got it wrong, scoring it 3-2 in favor of Yan. White said it all comes down to how people scored Round 1, but Sterling is confident that if White went back and watched the fight, he’d change his mind.
“Bummed me out? Not really because I feel like Dana has slighted me multiple times before,” Sterling told MMA Junkie. “So as long as that motherf*cker put that belt around this waist, that’s all that matters. As long as that check clears, and you put that belt around my waist, hey man, we can shake hands and agree to disagree because making a mean face and carrying an Arthur fist for five minutes doesn’t win you a round.
“You getting hit while the other guy is doing the hitting doesn’t win you the round, so I think Dana needs to go back and watch it, and I guarantee he’s gonna have a different take because we landed about the same amount of strikes, I outpointed him about 5-7 more, and I landed the cleaner, harder strikes and especially that step-in elbow that stumbled him backwards. How does he win the round? The judges blew that? Come on, man, give me a break.”
Sterling thinks the fight was too close to be considered a robbery and suggested that White perhaps was unhappy with the outcome.
“I’ve seen way worse decisions than that like Sanchez and Ross Pearson,” Sterling said. “Relax, Dana. It’s gonna be OK, and it gets better. Trust me. There’s gonna be better fights coming out of me later on. I think he needs to realize he shouldn’t be doing that in general. It’s not a good look. You come off as a hater and then two, I think it kinda makes him look like he doesn’t know the sport. I don’t know, that’s just my opinion.”