With a second win over Petr Yan in his pocket, UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is looking forward to his next challenge. Although he doesn’t want to fight Yan again immediately, “The Funk” told The MMA Hour that he is more than happy to take on a trilogy fight further down the line.
“If he wants to be 0-3 against ‘The Funk,’ we can make it happen. If you look at his record, two of those losses are from me, so if he wants a third, we can do it again.”
Sterling Happy to Fight Yan A Third Time: “If he wants to be 0-3 against ‘The Funk,’ we can make it happen”
In the meantime, Aljamain Sterling is looking at some other major names at 135 pounds. Chief among them is TJ Dillashaw, who Sterling called out from the Octagon, but does not, according to the champ, deserve a title shot.
“When I thought about it afterward, I was like, he really doesn’t deserve it. He really didn’t earn it. Maybe it’s just because I heard the narrative so much, that he was gonna be getting the winner of myself and Yan when we were supposed to fight in Abu Dhabi. So maybe I just got wrapped up in that.
Honestly, if I think there’s anyone more deserving, it would probably be [Jose] Aldo after beating Rob Font, if we’re doing the merit system.
That would be the most rational in terms of merit, like what have you done for me lately. Even Dominick Cruz – these guys all got big names.
T.J., I don’t know how he got in the mix, but somehow I just felt like he was the next guy, so I just threw it out there. I wasn’t even really thinking about it, to be honest.
I knew he was there, I know that’s what the UFC wants to do, so that’s probably why I even said his name. But it’s a fun fight. The fans know him, he’s got a big resume, and to beat a guy like that only adds to my resume and my legacy.
I’m here for money. I think all these guys, in my opinion, are relatively the same in terms of skill set, so I think if I had to pick, T.J.’s fine with me.”
Aljamain Sterling’s defense against Petr Yan legitimizes a title that he won via disqualification, in the eyes of many fans painting him as a false champ. With a legitimate title to defend, Sterling will need to prepare for war against the elite in one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC. The likes of former featherweight champ Jose Aldo, the aforementioned Dillashaw, and even Cory Sandhagen are all eyeing the bantamweight belt.
Do you want to see Sterling vs Yan 3, or should the UFC shake up the 135 pound title conversation? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjFXoI89zMM
