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Petr Yan Apologizes to Aljamain Sterling After UFC 259 Title DQ Loss, TJ Dillashaw Labels Sterling ‘FakeMaster’
History was made at UFC 259, but not in a way that many expected. In the UFC bantamweight title co-main event, Aljamain Sterling was awarded the title in his fight against Petr Yan due to disqualification. Yan lost the fight and his title due to disqualification after hitting Sterling with a blatantly illegal knee during the fourth round. Yan has since apologized for the foul call.
This is the first time in UFC history that a title has changed hands due to a disqualification loss. Yan tweeted out after the fight, “I apologize and wish speedy recovery to (Sterling). I didn’t mean to throw an illegal strike, I just made a big mistake and paid for it.”
For his part, the new UFC bantamweight champion Sterling commented after the fight, “Not the way I ever want to win a fight. It was close, competitive and filled with action. I felt the knee was intentional, especially after the ref announced I was a downed opponent, so I didn’t expect to be hit. Yan is a bad dude! WE WILL DO IT AGAIN!”
UFC President Dana White noted the promotion plans to run the fight back following the finish to last night’s contest. Yan’s mistake was puzzling. Also, he was winning the fights on two judges’ scorecards and appeared to getting the better of Sterling before the foul.
Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw also got in on the action following UFC 259. Dillashaw claimed that Sterling was acting and faking his condition following the illegal knee shot. He tweeted on Yan and Sterling, “And the Oscar goes to @FakeMaster for Best Actor in a Title Fight and Petr Yan needs a crash course in the rules of the sport he was once champion in. Hey Petr now you’re a cheater too, bitch.”
Sterling later responded to Dillashaw. He wrote on Twitter, “You cheated your entire UFC career and you have the balls to call someone an actor? You lost your manhood when you decided to inject yourself so that you actually compete.
I hope Sandhagen tools like he did to you in practices before.”
Dillashaw is coming off a two-year suspension from fighting after failing a drug test for EPO, a prohibitive substance, following a loss to then-flyweight champion Henry Cejudo at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw in January 2019.
I apologize and wish speedy recovery to @funkmasterMMA I didn’t mean to throw an illegal strike, I just made a big mistake and paid for it.
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) March 7, 2021
Not the way I ever want to win a fight. It was close, competitive and filled with action. I felt the knee was intentional, especially after the ref announced I was a downed opponent, so I didn’t expect to be hit.
Yan is a bad dude! WE WILL DO IT AGAIN!#UFC259— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 7, 2021
Finally getting to watch the sequence and wow…Heartbreaking to watch https://t.co/jbXQySL3rx
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 7, 2021
And the Oscar goes to @FakeMaster for Best Actor in a Title Fight and Petr Yan needs a crash course in the rules of the sport he was once champion in. Hey Petr now you’re a cheater too, bitch.
— TJ Dillashaw (@TJDillashaw) March 7, 2021
You cheated your entire UFC career and you have the balls to call someone an actor? You lost your manhood when you decided to inject yourself so that you actually compete.
I hope Sandhagen tools like he did to you in practices before. https://t.co/D9CWOcsc5e— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 7, 2021
