The long-awaited rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan is finally on the books.
At UFC 272, the second meeting between the current bantamweight champion Sterling (20-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) and interim bantamweight champion Yan (16-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Sterling challenged then-champion Yan at UFC 259 in March 2020. After three successful rounds from Yan, the bout ended in controversy in Round 4. When Sterling was a grounded fighter, Yan kneed him with an illegal knee. Sterling was unable to continue, and since Yan was disqualified, was named champion.
The two fighters were expected to rematch at UFC 267 in October, but Sterling withdrew from the bout due to a lingering neck issue – the same injury that caused him to undergo surgery earlier in the year.
Yan still competed at UFC 267, only in an interim title fight against fellow contender Cory Sandhagen. The fight went the distance and Yan captured the interim championship via unanimous decision.
With the addition, the UFC 272 lineup includes:
- Champion Aljamain Sterling vs. interim champion Petr Yan
- Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell
- Jessica Eye vs. Manon Fiorot
- Mariya Agapova vs. Maryna Moroz
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
- Tim Elliott vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
- Marina Rodriguez vs. Yan Xiaonan
