Aljamain Sterling Says Petr Yan Rematch Likely Moving to UFC 273 in April

It appears that the bantamweight title rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan will take place approximately one month later than originally anticipated.

The fight was recently announced for UFC 272 on March 5, but Sterling revealed on his “Weekly Scraps” podcast that the title unification bout will likely move to UFC 273 on April 9.

“Quick update, I know you guys probably seen some of the news but yes, they are talking about pushing our fight back to April,” Sterling said. “Not because of me. This is what I was told, that Yan isn’t vaccinated. Yan isn’t vaccinated so he can’t fight in March. ‘I’m Yan and I’m not vaccinated so I can’t fight in March.’ I actually respect his gangster. If this is the real reason, I actually respect his stance. I respect it but it doesn’t make any sense and I’m making fun of it because it’s like was he going to be vaccinated in April? I don’t think so.

“So what are we doing? I just want to know when we’re fighting because dude, it’s about time we get to punch each other in the face. Wouldn’t you guys say? I think so. So hopefully we can figure this out sooner rather than later and we can unify these belts and see who is really the guy.”

Yan and Sterling initially squared off at UFC 259, where “The Funk Master” claimed bantamweight gold via disqualification when his opponent landed an illegal knee 4:29 into the fourth round of their March 2021 bout. The rematch was initially slated for UFC 267 in October, but Sterling withdrew as a result of lingering issues from neck surgery.

If Sterling’s statement proves true, UFC 272 is suddenly looking light at the top of the card after Max Holloway was forced to withdraw from a proposed featherweight championship trilogy against Alexander Volkanovski in the evening’s main event. Promotion officials have yet to confirm the relocation of the Sterling-Yan rematch, or if Volkanovski will receive a new opponent at UFC 272.

On my podcast, The Weekly Scraps, we talk about the reason why my title fight is being pushed back to April.
Mr. Potato-Head can’t duck me forever!
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Watch Full episode in my biohttps://t.co/r7HWJMibRc
#TheWeeklyScraps #AndStill #UnfinishedBusiness #Podcast pic.twitter.com/zl8Czx3pck

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) January 11, 2022