disqualified<\/a> after serving up an illegal knee to Sterling, costing Yan both the bout and the title. Many say Yan was on target to win the fight decisively.<\/p>\nAljamain Sterling, a New Yorker, recently posted a photo on Instagram featuring himself and others posing with the Ukrainian flag, asserting his support for the war-stricken nation:<\/p>\n
“My team and I support Ukraine.”<\/em><\/p>\nPetr Yan, a Russian born fighter, in speaking to Ariel Helwani on ‘The MMA Hour’ YouTube podcast, had this to say (through a translator):<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, just looking at his statements before. Trying to make it political. Using the flags. Smiling, standing with Ukrainian flags. He\u2019s tried to make it political. And, yeah, I thought he didn\u2019t want me to be over here in the United States. But, now that I\u2019m here\u2026 He knows that\u2019s over for him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nYan implied that Sterling tried to stir up controversy and have him banned from entering the USA. Since the Russians attack on Ukraine began, some sporting organizations have implemented bans on Russian athletes, with some going as far as to ban Russian flights from entering their countries.<\/p>\n
Do you agree with ‘No Mercy’ that Sterling is trying to make it ‘political’ ahead of their fight this weekend?<\/p>\n
What is your prediction for Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling II?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Petr Yan has had no lack of words for Ajamain Sterling in the lead up to UFC 273 this weekend, on Saturday, April 9th. Yan’s latest comments towards ‘Funk Master’ accuse him of making things political ahead of their rematch. It will be Yan (16-2 MMA) vs. Sterling (20-3 MMA) who will set the record […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54491,"featured_media":375053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10163,39588,39610,83273],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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