UFC 273: Sterling vs. Yan – preview and betting tips

Peter Yan got his long-awaited rematch and will be able to win the bantamweight championship belt on Saturday when he challenges reigning champion Aljamain Sterling. He won the first fight by disqualifying his opponent. Can he retain the belt? What to expect from the fight and what to bet on?

It was March 6, 2021, and Peter Yan took on Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title at UFC 259. He was the favorite in the fight, but the fight was evenly matched from the start.

Sterling was more active, but Yan was more accurate and landed the better shots. In addition, he was able to get Sterling to the ground seven times in the fight. The two judges on the scorecards after the fight saw a close win for Yan, one would award the win to Sterling.

None of that mattered, however, as in the fourth round Yan hit Sterling with an illegal knee to the head and the American could not take it anymore. So there was a disqualification. Sterling was accused of simulation from many sides, and the Russian bit hard.

Sterling hasn’t fought since, so it’s a question of what kind of shape he’s in. After all, it’s been over a year. Yan, meanwhile, had a tough fight with Cory Sandhagen, whom he beat on points. However, Sandhagen is the man Sterling fought before Yan. He won in the first round on a submission.

It’s in the submissions that Sterling could be dangerous. While Yan has the most wins on KO/TKO outside of wins on points, Sterling has a similar record with submissions. However, Yan hasn’t been hit on a submission yet, and the Russian hasn’t even been knocked out. Sterling has already scored one loss by knockout.

Yan is not expected to want to leave anything to the judges. But Sterling certainly hasn’t sat in his living room for three years and slacked off. He’s aware that Yan will want to destroy him. That’s why he can’t be underestimated.

We can expect another evenly matched fight that should go all the way to the championship rounds. In their first match, it was clear that Yan was in better shape in the fourth round. It is this factor that could make the difference now.