LAS VEGAS – Aljamain Sterling wins UFC belt around his midsection and dropped it into the tangled octagon with a crash. Authentic in that moment he knelt down and rested his head on the fabric.
It was not the conduct of someone who had recently achieved a long-term fantasy of becoming a UFC champion. Yet those were the surprisingly bizarre conditions of Saturday’s UFC bantamweight title battle at UFC 259.
Authentic won the title by suspension at 4 minutes, 29 seconds of the fourth round after Petr Yan handled an illicit knee to Sterling’s head. The ring doctor established that Sterling, who was noticeably shaken at the knee, was unable to continue fighting. Referee Mark Smith deliberately administered the foul, causing the result to be a suspension. Aljamain Sterling wins UFC
Authentic was transferred to the clinic for preparatory reasons, according to the UFC.
“Everything I worked for up to this point, and for the battle to go that way,” Sterling said. “I thought the battle was extremely close; I thought I had lost two rounds. That is not how I would have preferred to win. That is not the way I imagined it. I just took off my belt. Aljamain Sterling wins UFC
“I was trying to proceed in any case, being that way. I was in terrible shape, and would have just mastered consciousness and just to get more discipline. The referee revealed to me that I was depressed. I don’t have the most nebulous idea. I understand that there is some warmth, some ill will, but everything is competition. ”
Yan took to Twitter afterward, apologizing and wishing a “speedy recovery” to Sterling.
“I had no intention of launching an illicit coup,” Yan composed. “I just made a big mistake and paid for it.”
What made the consummation considerably weirder is that Yan was in full control of the session. He was starting to dismantle Sterling in the third and fourth adjustments with specialized boxing. Real, who struggled to boost speed and make Yan uncomfortable, seemed to be losing steam with Yan getting into late adjustments.
Real got off to a solid start for the battle. He landed two knees on Yan’s head in the first round. Yan was revitalized at the end of the first by taking down Sterling with a left hand.
Authentic kept pushing in the second, however Yan was mostly stumped. He filled in almost all of Sterling’s takedown efforts and was capable in safety.
Yan handled some extreme left and right hands in the fourth round, leading to a strange finish.
“I think there is a lot of exhaustion, dissatisfaction. It was a decent battle,” said UFC president Dana White. “In any case, the thing is, [Yan] was turning him on. He was starting to win the battle. He was starting to take full responsibility for that battle … Why are you throwing that knee down? You.”
The adjudicators had Yan leading 29-28, 29-28, 28-29 going into the fourth, a round that Yan was convincingly winning before the illegal knee.
Really, Real had a 97-86 advantage in critical hits at the time of the stoppage.
“I needed to support myself,” Sterling said. “The battle moved quickly; it was a lot of activity. I realize the fans were appreciating that. This would be quite possibly one of the battles of the year or one of the best bantamweight battles in history for the title. the activity was constant until that moment.
“Sorry fans. I’m sorry the battle was like this. I trust that we will do it again, we will do it again and we will give you the battle you deserve.”
White, when he got some information about Yan and Sterling possibly running, said: “They both need a rematch. We have to do the rematch. We just have to decide when.”
Yan and Sterling ranked No. 1 and No. 2, individually, on ESPN’s MMA bantamweight rankings.
UFC 259 happened with the COVID-19 conventions actually at UFC Apex, an office across from the UFC corporate grounds.
Real (20-3) has now won six consecutive battles. The New York local, who had his training course at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, was falling off a first-round accommodation that prevailed over Cory Sandhagen at UFC 250 in June. Real, 31, is 12-3 in the UFC.
Yan (15-2) won the empty UFC bantamweight title by beating Jose Aldo at UFC 251 in July. The local Russia had won 10 from every incoming column, recalling his initial seven for the UFC. 28-year-old Yan normally prepares to get out of Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, however he moved his camp to the American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, this time due to Covid-related travel charges.