MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at one of three title fights at UFC 259, a five-round UFC bantamweight title bout between champion Petr Yan and challenger Aljamain Sterling. The event takes place on Saturday, March 6 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Petr Yan (-110)
Yan (15-1) is the UFC bantamweight champion. The 28-year-old Russian joined the promotion in 2018 and has since racked up an impressive 7-0 record in the Octagon. Yan has defeated names such as Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, Jimmie Rivera, and John Dodson on his path to the title, with only one career loss coming to Magomed Magomedov via split decision in ACA. Talking about his skills as a fighter, Yan is a little tank who packs a ton of power in his punches. He’s extremely fast and explosive and we have seen his vicious knockout power several times throughout his career. He’s got a great chin, five-round cardio, and the will to win. Yan’s definitely got a tough challenge ahead of himself on Saturday night against Sterling, and the odds have this fight as a dead Pick ’em.
Aljamain Sterling (-110)
Sterling (19-3) is the No. 1 contender in the UFC bantamweight division. The 31-year-old American has been in the UFC since 2014 and has racked up an 11-3 record in the Octagon, with wins over Cory Sandhagen, Pedro Munhoz, Cody Stamann, Brett Johns, and Renan Barao. A grappler by trade, Sterling has won nine fights by submission, and we saw his deadly submission skills on full display when he took on Sandhagen in his last fight and got him out of there in a minute. Sterling’s body lock takedown and clinch game are where he likes to do his best work, as he looks to tire his opponents down and takes them to the mat, his realm. On the ground, there are very few bantamweights who can compete with Sterling. On the feet, he’s improving as a striker with more volume and variety in his strikes. Having tasted a KO loss to Marlon Moraes previously, Sterling is going to have to be careful of Yan’s power this weekend. But if he can stay away from the power and implement his grappling gameplan, he has the ability to win the UFC bantamweight title.
Fight Breakdown: This is such an awesome fight between two elite bantamweights. It’s a matchup that is also very much a clash of styles, in my opinion. Despite his improved standup skills, I don’t see Sterling trying to stand and trade with the powerful Yan. He will likely look to use his grappling and take this fight into his realm, but I believe Yan is going to be very difficult to pin up against the fence and take to the ground. Yan is fast, hard to grab, and hard to hit. It’s a close fight as the odds indicate, but to me, the difference here is the power that Yan possesses. I’m not sure if he will knock Sterling out, but those big shots over the course of a 25-minute fight add up. It’s going to be a competitive bout, but ultimately I see Yan likely edging out a decision with more effective striking.
