Petr Yan lost his 135lb belt this weekend due to a disqualification. ‘No Mercy’ lived up to his nickname as he landed an illegal knee on Sterling, despite the ‘Funkmaster’ clearly having both knees on the canvas. This led to Sterling no longer being able to continue, which meant that for the first time in UFC history, a champion would lose his belt via disqualification.
Daniel Cormier later revealed to viewers that Yan only threw the knee after receiving confirmation from his corner. ESPN MMA later revealed the corner footage, in which the cornermen seemed to be giving Yan a variety of confusing commands.
One cornerman can be heard shouting “just punch”, which would be completely legal. However, Cormier stated that Khabib Nurmagomedov could hear one cornerman shouting in Russian “Yes kick.”
Nurmagomedov himself was cornering a fighter that night, as his teammate, Islam Makhachev took on Drew Dober. Whilst Khabib was at the Apex, Dana White has revealed that talks about a potential return for ‘The Eagle’ once again entered their conversation.
Petr Yan has since apologised for the illegal strike and wished Sterling a quick recovery. A rematch between the two is likely to be booked in the near future.