Aljamain Sterling is ready to prove everyone wrong at UFC 273.
Sterling is set to rematch Petr Yan in Jacksonville in a highly-anticipated bout. The two first met at UFC 259 in March with Sterling becoming the new champ after Yan threw an illegal knee and was DQ’d. Since then, many have wanted to see the rematch happen and when it does, Sterling believes he will silence all the critics.
“I’m just excited to compete and ready to shut all these critics up and these couch potato professionals and really just stick it to Yan and show him that I am who I say I am,” Sterling said to MMAJunkie.
Not only does Aljamain Sterling plan to silence the doubters but he believes he will make a statement in the fight. He says UFC 259 was a bad night at the office for him and now that he is finally healthy he believes it will be a dominant performance for him that people will say was legendary after April 9.
“I want people to remember everything that happened in the lead-up to this, from Petr Yan pulling out the very, very first fight we had back in 2020 in December,” Sterling said. “December 12 he pulled out for ‘personal reasons,’ whatever the hell that means. Then, we had our fight. I had a bad day in the office. Having the whole surgery, having to deal with everyone talking sh*t while my hands are literally tied behind my back and I can’t do anything.
“Now, we get the opportunity to see who is who. The domination I’m planning on having in this fight, if it goes the way I can believe it will go, I think people are going to use the word legendary,” he continued. I” think it’s going to be one of those types of performances where people will look back like, ‘Man, after all that sh*t, the fact he came back and did it that way, there’s no other word to describe how impressive it was.'”
Aljamain Sterling has not fought since the Yan fight back in March of 2021.
