In the first of three title fights on the stacked UFC 259 pay-per-view, Petr Yan is set to defend his bantamweight title for the first time. Heading into the fight, Yan is a -120 favorite with the comeback on the American at -110.
Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are actually split on this one just like the odds have it as a pick’em fight.
BJPENN.com Fighter Picks Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling:
Frankie Edgar, UFC bantamweight: I think Sterling is going to get it done. His wrestling will be the difference but his striking has improved as well.
Jack Hermansson, UFC middleweight: Extremely hard fight to call. Petr Yan will be the favorite but I think Sterling gets it done. His grappling will be the difference-maker.
Renato Moicano, UFC lightweight: Tough one to call. I think Petr Yan will win and defend his belt.
Rob Font, UFC bantamweight: Honestly, they are both great fighters and it will be entertaining but I think Sterling will pull it off.
Casey Kenney, UFC bantamweight: Yan defends his belt, his striking is too good for Sterling.
Tim Elliott, UFC flyweight: I’m going to go with Aljamain Sterling. He has great grappling and his striking has improved a ton as well.
Drew Dober, UFC lightweight: I have Petr Yan winning that one. He will keep it standing and outstrike Sterling.
Randy Brown, UFC welterweight: Aljamain Sterling, And New. I think he will use his wrestling to control the fight and get a submission win over ground and pound TKO.
David Dvorak, UFC flyweight: I like Petr Yan to defend his belt. He’s a better striker than Sterling and I think his wrestling is good enough to keep it standing.
Chris Gutierrez, UFC bantamweight: Sterling is so slick on the ground so it really depends if he can get it to the ground. Yan is such a crisp boxer and does have an underrated ground game. I’ll lean Yan getting it done.
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Fighters picking Petr Yan: Renato Moicano, Casey Kenney, Drew Dober, David Dvorak, Chris Gutierrez
Fighters picking Aljamain Sterling: Frankie Edgar, Jack Hermansson, Rob Font, Tim Elliott, Randy Brown
ICYMI: Pro fighters also picked the UFC 259 main event between Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya?
Who do you think wins, Petr Yan or Aljamain Sterling?