The stacked card of UFC 259 has now come and gone but had it's fair share of controversies...including the promotion crowning their first champion via disqualification when Petr Yan illegally kneed Aljamin Sterling late in the fourth round of their bantamweight title bout — Fightful has you covered on how several UFC fighters reacted to the illegal knee and Sterling's decision not to continue and claiming the UFC bantamweight championship in the process.
Aljamain Sterling Responds To Criticism Over DQ Win Over Petr Yan At UFC 259
During the first of three title fights at UFC 259, the UFC's bantamweight championshop changed hands in a way that's never been done in the promotion's illustrious history...via disqualification.
Aljamain Sterling took a vicious illegal knee from Petr Yan, late in the fourth round, while the former was clearly knelt down on the mat.
Referee Marc Smith immediately stopped the fight, called in the doctor and all three men determined that Sterling was unable to continue, meaning that Yan would be disqualified and Sterling would be crowned the new UFC bantamweight champion as a result.
If you were active on social media during the bout, you'd see that several UFC fighters were claiming that Sterling believed he was down on the judge's scorecards and played up the injury in order to claim UFC gold.
However, the new UFC bantamweight champion responded to the criticism, saying that he thought the fight was razor close and he never wanted to win the title in that manner.
.@PetrYanUFC please allow me to cleanly knee you in the temple, while you aren’t looking! See how much of a “clown”I would be then.
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 7, 2021
I can admit RD 4 you were starting to land more shots, but the fight was statistically close, despite me fatiguing early.
The clown here is you. https://t.co/gL2kWAupii
Megan Anderson Issues Statement Following UFC 259 Loss To Amanda Nunes
The greatest female Mixed Martial Artist in the sport's history, Amanda Nunes once again proved why she's just that...the GOAT.
The Brazilian-born UFC women's bantamweight and featherweight champion successfully defended her 145-pound title in dominant fashion en-route to a first-round armbar submission over the aforementioned Anderson.
The first time title challenger took to Twitter to release a short and to-the-point statement, saying that she'll be back.
This game has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. This was the one we wanted to win but it's the fight game.
— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) March 7, 2021
We'll be back ----
Thiago Santos Issues Statement Following Loss To Aleksandar Rakic At UFC 259
Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos made his return to the UFC's octagon at UFC 259 following a lenghty layoff after having knee surgery.
Unfortunatly for Santos, he ran into the white-hot surging contender Aleksandar Rakic and would be on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against the Austrian-born Rakic.
Following the bout, Santos issued a statement via Twitter saying it's his fault for the shortcoming when he left it in the judge's hands.
No excuses, I left it up to the judges, it was my fault.
— Thiago Marreta (@TMarretaMMA) March 7, 2021
.
---- Sem desculpas, eu deixei nas mãos dos juízes, a culpa foi minha. pic.twitter.com/cJwwcIF2M8
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