Aljamain Sterling has been yanked from his planned title rematch against Petr Yan.
MMAFighting.com is reporting that Sterling is dealing with lingering neck problems that will keep him out of UFC 267. “The Funkmaster” had undergone surgery for the issue but he hasn’t fully healed yet. Sterling vs. Yan 2 was going to take place inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 30. It’s now been said that the UFC is hoping to be able to put together an interim title fight.
Unfinished Business
Sterling and Yan have yet to settle the score. The two competed back in March at UFC 259. At the time, Yan was the UFC Bantamweight Champion. The fight ended via disqualification as Yan landed an illegal knee to the jaw of a downed Sterling. This marked the first time a UFC championship changed hands by way of disqualification.
Back in March, Sterling expressed his belief that Yan was being rewarded for negligence during a media scrum.
“Any other sport when you do something intentionally illegal you get suspended, you get fined, you get ejected from the game,” Sterling said in a recent media scrum. “This guy is getting rewarded with a rematch, which I get is a big fight. But, it is like, we can just break the rules and nothing is ever going to happen to us. I can just jump the Octagon and nothing is going to happen to me, I can go and fight another corner or push him after the bell and nothing is ever going to happen. So it’s like, I feel like when you have rules for a reason and you have to enforce them or otherwise let’s just run it up.”
“… I feel his ass should have been suspended or something. Pay me something for an illegal foul that could take years off my career.”
The lone title fight on the UFC 267 card is now a light heavyweight tilt. Champion Jan Blachowicz will put his gold on the line against Glover Teixeira. Stick with MiddleEasy.com for more details on when Aljamain Sterling can return to action once that information becomes available.
