Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling renew UFC 259 battle on social media

New UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling and former champ Petr Yan renewed their UFC 259 battle on social media the day after their fight.

Sterling and Yan had an incredible fight at UFC 259, one of three title fights on the card. Both men had their moments in the fight, but it appeared as though Yan was pulling away late when he made a huge error and illegally kneed Sterling in the head while he was a downed opponent. Referee Mark Smith deemed the foul intentional and was forced to wave off the fight on the advice of the cage-side doctor, who said Sterling couldn’t continue. Yan then became the first fighter in UFC history to lose his belt via DQ (disqualification).

Following the fight, Sterling threw his belt into the Octagon and many believed that he wouldn’t want to wear it considering he was down on the judges’ scorecards at the time of the illegal knee. However, Sterling has since shared photos of himself looking happy to be the new champion, and now he’s back on social media trolling Yan about him fighting Henry Cejudo next instead. It led to yet another social media exchange between the two.

Paper champ ducking the rematch already 🤦🏻‍♂️ https://t.co/bHygmTbGcB

— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) March 8, 2021

“I dIDn’T kNoW hE wAs dOwN. i’M gOinG tO fAkE ApOloGy nOw”
🤡 https://t.co/6ayaptzM1K pic.twitter.com/zpXQosTAbp

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 8, 2021

https://t.co/xJboRWOTuy pic.twitter.com/yy6sLIkNm0

— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) March 8, 2021

It seems like no love is lost between these two. At the end of the day, it’s just a very bizarre situation and an unfortunate way to end a fight that no one wanted to see. For Yan, he made a huge mistake that cost him his belt, a mistake he will likely regret for the rest of his life. As for Sterling, it wasn’t his fault that he was illegally kneed. He is the champion and he might as well make the most of it, even if many consider him a “paper champ” now.

Do you think we will get the rematch between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling?