Aljamain Sterling: Petr Yan Needs More Title Defenses for GOAT Status
Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling praised Petr Yan following his title defense at UFC 333 but stated Yan still needs more defenses before claiming undisputed GOAT status.
· VILLAND PICK editorial
Petr Yan cemented his current reign atop the 135-pound division at UFC 333, defeating Merab Dvalishvili for the second time to conclude their trilogy and defend his bantamweight championship. The dominant performance led many across the combat sports landscape to place Yan at the summit of the all-time bantamweight rankings.
Former opponent Aljamain Sterling, who holds two career victories over Yan, addressed the growing GOAT conversation on his "Weekly Scraps" podcast. While Sterling was quick to acknowledge Yan's elite skill set, he noted that calling him the undisputed division leader right now is premature.
"I would say from a technical standpoint, if you want to say his technique is really, really good... I’m not going to dismiss that, I’m not going to deny that greatness," Sterling said. "He’s a technical savage when he’s in there."
However, Sterling emphasized that Yan's championship resume requires further title defenses to separate him from past divisional greats. "He’s definitely in the mix," Sterling explained. "He’s in the conversation with the Dominick Cruz’s, the Merab’s, T.J.
Dillashaw but to just go hands down he’s the GOAT with one title defense is kind of crazy to me. Two-time champ, that alone is hard, but one title defense, I don’t know if that does it for me." According to Sterling, stacking up defenses will be the essential key for Yan to firmly claim the division's all-time crown.
Sources
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