“Big” John McCarthy admits he thinks Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2 was closer than he initially thought on second watch.
Sterling and Yan mixed it up a second time in the co-main event of UFC 273. This was to determine the undisputed UFC Bantamweight Champion. Sterling was the main titleholder going into the fight, while Yan held interim gold. In their first encounter, Yan lost the 135-pound gold via disqualification due to an illegal knee.
In the rematch, Sterling ended up winning the fight via split decision.
“Big” John McCarthy Gives Sterling-Yan 2 Another Look
On a recent edition of the Weighing In podcast, John McCarthy revealed he watched the opening round of Sterling vs. Yan 2 a second time and he gave some advice to those at home who are scoring fights (h/t Sportskeeda).
“I went back and watched the first round. And I will say this, I say it all the time, ‘Don’t sit there and talk to your friends and watch a fight and think that you judged it correctly.’ Because, I was talking to my friends. And when I went back and watched it as a judge, it’s razor-close.
“It can go either way. And I can understand where someone looks at Aljamain and gives him the round. And I can look at where you can say that, yes, Yan won the round. It really comes down to what you give credit for, and this is the difference.”
Regardless of how one saw the fight, Sterling remains the UFC Bantamweight Champion. It appears UFC President Dana White likes the idea of matching up the 135-pound kingpin against TJ Dillashaw next.
