Russian MMA fighter Petr Yan lambasts opponent for posing with Ukraine flag at UFC 273

Petr Yan has recently shared his thoughts over Aljamain Sterling trying to bring in into their bantamweight title fight at UFC 273. Russian UFC fighter Petr Yan is set to face Aljamain Sterling in a rematch this Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. Ahead of the Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling rematch, Yan has taken a shot at his opponent for posing with the Ukraine flag.

UFC 273: Petr Yan takes a shot at Aljamain Sterling over the Ukraine flag

Petr Yan has denounced the ongoing Russia Ukraine war by previously posting a picture of two hands together both in the colours of Russia. He also captioned the picture "No to war".

A report published by mirror.co.uk states that Sterling posted a picture of himself and teammates posing behind a Ukraine flag, with the caption: "My team and I support Ukraine" leaving Yan unimpressed.  The Russian fighter while speaking to the MMA Hour said "Looking at his statements before, trying to make it political, using the flags, smiling, standing with the Ukrainian flag. He tried to make it political. Yeah, I thought he didn’t want me to be over here in the United States. Now that I’m here, he knows that it’s over for him".

About Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling fight 

The Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling last fight last year saw Yan left Sterling unable to fight after landing an illegal knee, making Sterling the first UFC fighter in history to win a title via disqualification. The two were originally set to rematch at UFC 267 in October, but Sterling withdrew from the bout due to neck issues. Yan defeated Cory Sandhagen at that event to become interim bantamweight champion.

Yan made his debut in 2014. He joined the UFC in 2018 and is 8-1 with the promotion. Yan's last fight was a win over Cory Sandhagen last October for the interim UFC bantamweight title. On the other hand, Sterling made his pro debut in 2011. He won bantamweight championships in Cage Fury Fighting and Ring of Combat before joining the UFC in 2014. He is is on a six-fight win streak since losing to Marlon Moraes in 2017.