UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling silences critics

Aljamain Sterling answered several hundred questions in interviews and news conferences leading into Saturday night’s rematch with Petr Yan at UFC 273.

He also asked a few, none more poignant and targeted than when he questioned every naysayer and doubter — and, oh, there were lots of those — about what they would say after Sterling shut them up by beating Yan.

So, now that the Uniondale-raised Sterling did in fact beat Yan and solidify his legitimacy as the UFC bantamweight champion, what exactly can they say?

“For the people who questioned my skills, who’s laughing now?" Sterling said at his post-fight news conference. "How about those clown emojis now?”

This being 2022, and the ease with which a human can transfer their fleeting thought directly to an athlete’s phone via that silly little @ sign and tally up the notifications on social media, someone will find a way to hate on Sterling after he won a split decision against Yan.

“I got receipts, man, people who wrote me off for one bad performance," Sterling said. "One bad performance doesn’t define you for the rest of your life."

Perhaps Joe Rogan said it best during the UFC 273 pay-per-view broadcast as the Jacksonville crowd inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena voiced their allegiances during the fight.

“When you’re in Florida, and they’re chanting for a Russian,” Rogan said, “it’s not good.”

Rogan also very simply stated something else when interviewing Sterling in the octagon right after the fight: "This time you got it the right way."

Sterling became the bantamweight champion in March 2021 after Yan was disqualified for throwing an illegal knee that concussed Sterling and led to the cageside doctor and referee stopping the fight. Sterling didn't want to win the title that way. No fighter does. But that, coupled with several photos of him with the belt with his friends and teammates posted on social media later that night — all aimed at trying to help Sterling feel better in the moment about being the champion — cast Sterling as the bad guy to many fans. On Saturday night, those vitriolic tweets from the random fans turned into real-life jeers in Jacksonville.

“People can say whatever they want, boo me, cheer me, I’m going to turn that around and use that as energy to give me momentum in the fight," Sterling said.

Sterling (21-3) dominated the second and third rounds with his masterful ground game, locking in a body triangle and arm and alternating between punching Yan and working for a rear naked choke. Yan (16-3) took rounds four and five with his own ground control work, leaving the first round as the deciding factor. Two judges scored it for Sterling, who outstruck Yan, 20-13. The other judge scored it for Yan, presumably on octagon control and his forward pressure.

"I’m just glad I came out on the right side of that decision," Sterling said. "I don’t know what the heck that one judge was thinking. Great fight. Big night. Got my friends, my family, my teammates, my fiancee, my mom. Just overwhelmed with emotion. This has just been a dream come true. Something I’ve envisioned for a very long time, since I first set sight on this sport.

“We did it, baby," Sterling said. "We did it. We did it the way I wanted to do it, and this time removed all doubt, showed that that last one was not anything even close of what I'm capable of doing."

Sterling also took notice of the oddsmakers, who had the Yan at a near 5:1 favorite, with Sterling the underdog at anywhere from +330 to +375.

“You made Long Island very very very very very rich," Sterling said, "so thank you for that one."

By Mark La Monica

mark.lamonica@newsday.comLaMonicaMark

Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.