TJ Dillashaw shares his prediction for Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling 2

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has shared his prediction for the upcoming Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling rematch.

Yan (16-2 MMA) and Sterling (21-3 MMA) are set to collide for a second time in the co-headliner of UFC 273 on April 9th. The bitter rivals originally met at UFC 259, where ‘FunkMaster’ took home the 135lb title after ‘No Mercy’ was disqualified for landing an illegal knee.

TJ Dillashaw (17-4 MMA), the promotions former bantamweight champion, recently shared his prediction for ‘Yan vs Sterling 2’ during a interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN:

“Anything can happen. But my money is on Yan. Just to see how that fight went down, Aljamain just break and give up really, didn’t have much for him. I was kinda expecting Sterling to give him a lot more trouble in the grappling aspects of that takedown, Yan just kinda shrugged it off. Like he had no strength. I don’t know if there’s much you can do about that, that mentality.”

TJ Dillashaw continued:

“Yan is a killer, he stays real tight, he stays clean, he’s got the mentality, he’s a fighter. You got those competitors, you got athletes and then you got fighters. Guys like myself and guys like Yan are the full package, you do all of them. I feel like Sterling is more like a competitor or athlete, he doesn’t have that fighting spirit in him. He’s a little bit weak when it comes to that.”

Image Credit: @UFC/Twitter

Dillashaw returned from a two-year layoff back in July of 2021 to defeat Cory Sandhagen (14-4 MMA) by split decision in a fight of the night performance at UFC Vegas 32. ‘Killashaw’ got injured in the fight and is still healing up from his recent knee surgery.

Going into UFC 273 there has been much banter between Sterling and Yan and yet the rematch has been in the works for a while, but delays have played a part because of health issues, injuries and COVID vaccinations.

Now that the rematch is actually going to happen, who is your pick to be victorious? Do you agree with Dillashaw that Yan is the one to bet on? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!