Dana White reacts to controversial and ending in Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling bout at UFC 259

UFC president Dana White reacted to the controversial ending in the Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling bantamweight title bout at UFC 259.

Yan nailed Sterling in the head while he was on the ground with an illegal knee, leaving Sterling unable to continue in the contest. Though Yan was slightly ahead on the scorecards at the time of the foul, referee Mark Smith deemed the illegal knee was done on purpose and he disqualified Yan, which led to Sterling now holding the belt. It was a super controversial moment and call as it was the first time in the UFC we’ve ever seen a title change hands via DQ. Following the event, White spoke to reporters about the fight.

“Yeah, it sucked,” White said about the way the fight ended. “It was a good fight. I mean, that was a fight that everybody was excited about tonight and everyone knew it was going to be good, and yeah, that’s a bad one.”

The UFC president confirmed what seems like a foregone conclusion at this point, and that’s running Yan and Sterling back sometime later this year. White said that Sterling was cleared by local health officials and the promotion hopes to book the rematch soon.

“Yeah, as soon as possible. Aljo went to the hospital and he’s cleared. Nothing wrong with him,” White said.

Both Sterling and Yan had their moments in the fight, but it did appear Yan had the edge heading into the later rounds and was on his way to claiming the decision before the illegal knee occurred. Based on the rules, Yan lost the fight and lost his belt. But it is hard for many fans to digest seeing a title changing hands based on how a fight like that went.

Do you think Dana White will book the immediate rematch between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling?