Dana White thinks Aljamain Sterling may have gotten away with one again.
Sterling defeated rival Petr Yan in his rematch at UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Fla. on Saturday, earning a split nod after five rounds of competition to tie his undisputed bantamweight title with Yan’s interim title. The win officially led Sterling 2-0 in their streak, with “Funk Master” becoming the champion at UFC 259 in March last year when Yan was disqualified for hitting a downed Sterling with an illegal knee.
Their second encounter was less controversial during the fight, but afterwards there were many doubts about the score from fans, media and UFC President Dana White. At the evening’s post-fight press conference, White made it clear that he disagreed with the judges’ decision.
“I thought the judges screwed that up,” White said. “I had the 3:2 in the other direction. I don’t know how you did it. I think it comes down to how you score in the first round.”
According to the official scorecards, Round 1 was actually the decider, with judges Sal D’Amato and Eliseo Rodriguez scoring 10-9 for Sterling and judge Chris Lee 10-9 for Yan. In no round was 10-8 rewarded, although Sterling was in control for most of the second round, threatening submissions and strikes.
Afterwards, Yan used his post-fight interview time to request a rematch with Sterling. He competed as the interim UFC bantamweight champion on Saturday after defeating Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267 to capture that vacant belt.
It’s likely Yan will have to wait for a third shot at Sterling, especially given the depth of the 135-pound squad. Two-time champion TJ Dillashaw was in attendance at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and earlier in the evening stated that he would prefer a title fight against Yan.
White wants the Sterling Yan trilogy to be put on hold while Dillashaw waits in the wings.
“Listen, this [third Sterling-Yan] The fight will be there,” White said. “Petr Yan is one of the worst guys in this division. You probably do the TJ fight.”