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UFC President Dana White was not happy with how the decision from the judges unfolded in the bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan on Saturday night.
Sterling — who entered the fight as a massive underdog — won by split decision, taking out Yan to claim the undisputed title.
“I thought that the judges blew that one,” White told reporters at his post-fight press conference. “I had it 3-2 the other way. I don’t know how you guys scored it. I guess it’s all in how you score that first round.”
White was right in his assessment that it was all about the first round. Sal D’Amato and Eliseo Rodriguez scored the opening five minutes 10-9 for Sterling, while Chris Lee scored it 10-9 for Yan.
“I think I won this fight and I got robbed,” Yan said through his translator in the octagon. “I think I won three rounds out of five.”
Aljamain Sterling Asking for Apologies After UFC 273 Win
Sterling took on a massive amount of disrespect heading into the fight, with many questioning his credentials as champ, seeing as he won the belt after Yan was disqualified for an illegal strike.
“He didn’t win. Petr lost. Sterling didn’t win. Petr lost. Okay. This is how it happened,” former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker told Fox Sports. “That is the undeniable truth of the matter. So you can’t go around saying I’m the champ, I’m the best in the world, cause you didn’t win the belt – you were given it. It’s different.”
With the win, Sterling has now shut down all the critics and can boast his UFC gold proudly.
“I had a tough-ass opponent in Petr Yan,” Sterling said. “He’s dangerous and he brings out the best in me. He beat my ass the first fight. This is for the haters who keep writing me off.”
Sterling even issued his own apology form for his haters via social media.
“I’m going to need y’all to fill this out and hand it into me by the end of the work day,” Sterling wrote.
Sterling Wants TJ Dillashaw Next
So what’s next for the champ? Sterling wants TJ Dillashaw, which is a personal matchup for the 32-year-old.
“Oh yeah – he’s been a big critic,” Sterling told reporters. “The guy’s just been nonstop talking about me, talking about my heart, and this, that – the spirit of a fighter. The spirit of a fighter is someone who’s never going to give up, if you ask me. I think I showed that this time. I think I showed that even in my worst night, which was my first performance against Yan. That was a shell of myself, and he couldn’t get me out of there that night, and he wasn’t going to get me out of there this night, either.”
White said that the fight with Dillashaw is a route he could see the promotion going, keeping a potential trilogy with Yan on the backburner.
“Listen, that fight’s gonna be there,” White said of Sterling/Yan III. “Petr Yan is one of the baddest dudes in that division. So yeah, you probably do the TJ fight.”
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