New UFC interim bantamweight champion Petr Yan issued a warning to “chicken heart” Aljamain Sterling following his big win at UFC 267.

Yan defeated Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision in the co-main event of this past Saturday’s UFC 267 card. The fight was absolutely phenomenal as both men went back and forth for the entire 25 minutes in one of the best fights of the year. But at the end of the five rounds, it was Yan who ended up getting his hand raised with three 49-46 scorecards.

By beating Sandhagen, Yan has now set himself up for a future fight against Sterling, who is technically the UFC bantamweight champion after winning the belt from Yan earlier this year at UFC 259. Of course, that fight was marred in controversy after Sterling was kneed in the head by Yan illegally in the fourth round when he was a downed opponent. Because Yan landed the illegal knee which led to the stoppage of the fight, Sterling won by DQ.

Yan and Sterling were supposed to meet at UFC 267, but Sterling was not able to fight due to lingering issues stemming from neck surgery, which led to Sandhagen stepping in on short notice. But now that Yan has the interim belt and Sterling has the actual title, the two are supposed to meet in a title unification bout sometime in 2022. But if you ask Yan, he believes that Sterling is still afraid of him, saying that he has a “chicken heart.”

“I live inside his head. The man who ran away once will always run again. He has a chicken heart, very small,” Yan told The MMA Hour (via MMAFighting.com). “I know it’s called an interim belt, but in fact, it has all the functions of the real belt, too. When I get the chance and opportunity to beat up Sterling again, I will do it in a more dominant way to leave no doubts who the real champion is… I’m going to hurt him real bad this time.”

The rematch between these two rivals cannot come soon enough.

Who do you think wins the rematch between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling?