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UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling and former titleholder Petr Yan continued their war of words on social media by trading barbs on Twitter after their championship rematch was officially set for UFC 267 on October 30, 2021. The fight will take place on a card headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship match between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, the fighters announced.
Sterling challenged Yan for the title at UFC 259 in March 2021 and the fight ended in controversy. Sterling won the belt by disqualification after referee Mark Smith determined Yan him with an intentionally illegal knee while he was on the ground in the fight’s fourth round. Sterling said he was not able to continue fighting because of the shot to the head. He has faced criticism for not trying to keep the bout going despite the illegal knee, and has been accused of acting and faking the injury to win the championship.
After the Sterling-Yan rematch was finalized, Yan tweeted, “UFC 267 bout agreement signed. Time to return what’s mine. No games with my prey this time.”
Sterling responded, “Games? You had a shell of the Funk and you still couldn’t get the job done. Gonna cut the oxygen to your brain and put you to sleep, f*** boy!”
Aljamain Sterling & Petr Yan Have Been Exchanging Words on Social Media in the Months Since Their Controversial First Bout
Sterling and Yan have been exchanging words on social media in the several months since their fight ended in controversy with Sterling as the new UFC Bantamweight Champion. After the fight, Sterling revealed he had to have surgery to fix a herniated disc in his neck, which would sideline him until at least October, ESPN reported.
After announcing he would be out of action, Sterling tweeted in March 2021, “Healing takes time.
Be patient.” Yan responded, “Ducking takes time. Be patient.”
In April, after Yan called for him to be stripped of his belt because of the injury, Sterling tweeted, “The guy laughing stock has the belt. You fought your first Top 5 opponent and were to stupid to win, even with a fatigue advantage. I can’t wait to slap the s*** outta you.” Yan retorted, “When? In 2023? Just admit you are terrified to enter the octagon with me again. Your a** is getting stripped p****.”
The Sterling-Yan Bantamweight Title Fight Is One of Several Bangers on the Abu Dhabi Stacked Card Which Is Set to Air on ESPN, Not ESPN+ PPV
Sterling and Yan is set to be the co-main event, with Blachowicz’s title defense against Teixeira headlining UFC 267. But the card is stacked with several other huge fights. And, according to Ariel Helwani, the event will be available on ESPN and ESPN+ subscribers and will not be a PPV with an extra $70 cost. UFC 268 is set for a week later and will be a PPV, with Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington set as the headliner.
“This would mark the first numbered non-PPV since UFC 138 aired on Spike via tape delay from Birmingham, England. 267 won’t be tape delayed, of course,” Helwani tweeted. UFC 267 is expected to start at 11 a.m. Eastern.
Along with the two title fights, lightweight contenders Islam Makhachev and Rafael Dos Anjos are set to square off. Other fights include Alexander Volkov vs. Marcin Tybura in a top-10 heavyweight fight, Amanda Ribas vs. Virna Jandiroba in a key strawweight match and the return of 2020 breakout star Khamzat Chimaev, who will face Li Jingliang.
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