Aljamain Sterling wears football helmet to UFC 273 for protection from Petr Yan (Video)

Aljamain Sterling was prepared for the UFC 273 press conference. The UFC bantamweight champion wore a football helmet to confront his foe Petr Yan.

‘Funk Master’ and ‘Mercy’ first fought back at UFC 259 in March 2021. While Sterling had some success in the early rounds, he was fading badly in the championship contest. In round four, Yan had the fight in complete control. For some inexplicable reason, he landed a big illegal knee.

After Aljamain Sterling was unable to continue the fight, he became UFC bantamweight champion. It was the first and only time in UFC history that someone has become a titleholder through disqualification.

The two were set to rematch last year at UFC 267 in October. However, Sterling was forced to pull out due to a neck injury. As a result, Cory Sandhagen stepped in to face Yan, in what became an interim championship fight. ‘No Mercy’ wound up winning the bout via unanimous decision.

Now, over a year later, the two are set to rematch at UFC 273 this weekend in a champion vs. champion contest. The build-up to the fight has been intense, with both men talking loads of trash. Petr Yan has said that Aljamain Sterling isn’t a worthy rival and that he’s the real champion. Meanwhile, ‘Funk Master’ has opined that the former champion doesn’t know the rules of MMA.

Earlier today at the UFC 273 press conference, the two men traded words and insults once again. However, before the action kicked off, Sterling showed off a Jacksonville Jaguars football helmet.

Sterling then got on his knees and put the helmet on. He then jokingly told Yan, who was across the stage, not to knee him in the face.

Aljo's ready for anything 😂

[ @FunkMasterMMA | #UFC273 Press Conference ] pic.twitter.com/1jtxaUtRZh

— UFC (@ufc) April 7, 2022

What do you think about Aljamain Sterling’s joke at the UFC 273 press conference? Are you picking the ‘Funk Master’ to defeat Petr Yan on Saturday night?