Aljamain Sterling not ready to call Petr Yan greatest bantamweight after Merab win

Sterling, who has beaten Yan twice, said on his podcast that naming Yan the greatest bantamweight after one title defence went too far, though he rated him among the division's best.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Tue 27 Oct, 18:13 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Aljamain Sterling has said Petr Yan has not yet earned the title of greatest bantamweight of all time, despite Yan beating Merab Dvalishvili for a second time at UFC 333 to retain the title and settle their trilogy.

The win led to calls for Yan to be ranked above every other bantamweight in history. Sterling, a former champion at 135 pounds who holds two victories over Yan, said on his Weekly Scraps podcast that declaring Yan the outright greatest on the strength of one title defence was premature.

Sterling placed Yan alongside Dominick Cruz, Dvalishvili and T.J. Dillashaw in that debate. He said: “He’s definitely in the mix.” He was full of praise for Yan's ability, calling him a technical savage. Sterling said: “I would say from a technical standpoint, if you want to say his technique is really, really good and he’s a dog when he’s in there, I 100-percent agree.” Sterling also questioned what the label now means. He said: “But what do you consider GOAT? I don’t even know anymore because it seems like the lines are so blurred that I don’t even know what the conversation is about anymore.” Dvalishvili was the subject of similar talk not long ago, after he won the title and defended it three times before losing to Yan. Sterling, who could make his own case as a former champion, said Yan was not far from claiming the honour, with further title defences the way to separate himself from the other former champions in the division.

In this story

Aljamain Sterling Petr Yan Merab Dvalishvili