Yan vs Sterling: Bets and Odds on the Fight

Current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and interim bantamweight champion Petr Yan will finally have their rematch. This fight will be the main event of UFC 273 that will take place on the evening of April 9th through to April 10th, 2022 in Brooklyn, USA.

In this post we review odds and tips for the Yan - Sterling fight. Some advice from Legalbet is waiting for you at the end of the post.

Petr Yan

3/10

Aljamain Sterling

13/5

Petr Yan was disqualified in the fourth round of the first fight for illegal kneeling. Sterling got the champion title, but most of the MMA society didn’t accept that decision. They started accusing Sterling of simulation.

Yan - Sterling: Odds for the fight

Referees Dereck Cleary and Sal Di Amato gave scores 29-28 for Petr Yan after the first three rounds of the first bout. Yan was way more self-assured than his opponent. He wasn’t afraid of either the clinches at the octagon borders nor of the wrestling on the mat. He easily exchanged punches with his opponent. It looked like he would have had enough stamina for the intensive fighting in the last rounds of the bout. This is why the odds for Yan's victory in the rematch are so low 3/10

Sterling was fighting pretty well before he received the illegal knee hit. The problem was that he didn’t expect Yan to perform so boldly and steadfastly. The Russian fighter understood his opponent’s game plan and it made him nervous. It’s possible that he will be nervous again and he will make some serious mistakes because of it. Because of this he is the underdog and you can bet on Sterling’s victory with the odds at 57/1

Bets on the fight between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling

The total number of rounds to be completed is an obvious thing to bet on for this event. The first encounter revealed that the fighters were used to tactical games with a very low level of risk in offensive actions. Besides, we should remember about the fighters’ endurance and peculiarities of their weight division. Even if Petr Yan is way more aggressive in this fight and starts to increase the rhythm, it won’t lead to a fast knockout. So, “Over 3,5 Rounds” seems to be a very interesting option.

Over 3.5 Rounds

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Bet

33/50

Bookmakers think that we won’t see a full fight. This confrontation has a long history, so they may be right. Petr Yan will do anything to take the title. He realises that he has to knock out Sterling to do that. Otherwise, judges will most likely score in favour of his opponent.

Fight go the distance - Yes

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Bet

4/5

Knockout or technical knockout are considered among the most feasible ways of how the fight will end. Despite the good wrestling abilities of both fighters, punches will decide the result this time. It’s likely that this time Sterling won’t have a lot of chances to keep on defending on the mat without real offensive actions.

Any fighter will win KO, TKO, DQ

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Bet

23/20

Petr Yan has much better individual skills. Aljamain Sterling never managed to surprise the Russian opponent during the first bout and was too far from knocking him out. This is why bookmakers don’t really believe in Sterling.

Statistics (Fight record) and physical data

Sterling used his advantage of a longer reach in the first rounds pretty well. He would attack and make Petr Yan lean into the cage several times. Meanwhile Yan would get closer quite skilfully and was overall better than his opponent in ground fighting. Aljamain’s long hands are not a big threat for Yan.

• Ex UFC bantamweight champion, blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

• 18 fights, 16 wins, 2 losses

Petr Yan to win

Bet

3/10

When Yan lost the last fight his fans didn’t see it as a real loss. Petr Yan was about to win the fight and had chances to finish Sterling in the fifth round. Sterling may be criticized for a possible simulation, but it’s true that Yan fouled by kicking with his knee in the way he did.

Petr Yan faced Cory Sandhagen recently and it was an amazing fight for the Russian. He did his best, endured a lot of dangerous attacks and he got more tired than in the fight against Aljamain.

Sandhagen is more dangerous in stance than Sterling, he is also physically stronger, and he is more persistent. Petr Yan has prepared to the fight against Sterling very well, Aljamain won’t be able to surprise his opponent.

What can we expect from Petr Yan in his fight versus Sterling?

He doesn’t need to change a lot from last time, other than the mistake of the illegal knee strike. This time Yan will most likely let the opponent punch with jabs and sidekicks that did no harm to Yan in the first bout. The Russian fighter realized that Aljamain is very nervous, so he acts in a chaotic way, and there are moments when Yan will be able to push on Sterling.

Petr Yan understands that he is better at fighting on the mat. This time he will try to use this advantage as much as possible. Direct right-hand punches during counter attacks were helpful, too. They shaked Sterling, sending him to the ground.

Petr Yan will take all these things into account. He won’t be in a rush at the beginning. We expect that this time he’s going to try to legally finish Aljamain in the 4th or 5th round.

What chance does Petr Yan have of winning?

The chances of the Russian fighter winning are as it was in the first bout. Sterling didn’t manage to surprise his opponent with an unusual game plan. Yan controlled the whole fight and took the punches that came his way.

If Yan keeps on working in this way he will get good chances to knock out the American fighter in the rematch. Petr Yan looks faster, more dangerous and stronger than Sterling. The Russian fighter will be a bit more aggressive to try to finish the opponent once he begins to tire.

Petr Yan let Aljamain Sterling recover after the American fighter missed a couple tough direct punches. Chances are that Yan will be more furious this time and finish him off when he has a chance.

Petr Yan’s last five bouts

Petr Yan has never lost by decision in the UFC. Awarding Aljamain Sterling with a win in the first bout is still controversial in the MMA community.

Aljamain Sterling

• Ex CFFC and Ring of Combat bantamweight champion. Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Incumbent UFC bantamweight champion.

• 23 fights, 20 wins, 3 losses.

Aljamain Sterling

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Bet

13/5

Sterling is one of the few fighters that managed to become hated by a whole legion of UFC fans in just a couple of minutes. They sarcastically call him an amazing actor who deserves an Oscar.

The beginning of his performance at UFC 259 was quite lively. He attacked quickly trying to make a knee kick to Yan's head. But he realized pretty quickly that this was going to be to no avail. Aljamain got slower in the third round, it was obvious that he wasn’t going to fight in a standing position only. Not long after Sterling could barely stand on his feet after tough low kicks and sweeps. So he just kept on falling to the ground wanting to start ground fighting with Yan.

After he was illegally hit in the temple he did say that he never wanted to get the title in this way. He promised to have a rematch with Petr Yan. But then he changed his opinion and claimed that his title was won fair and square.

What may we expect from Sterling in the fight with Yan?

We may expect him to significantly reduce his speed in the early rounds in order not to tire so much at the end of the match. Aljamain’s coaches have made simple conclusions about how to beat Yan. They believe that as the last fight went on, as it got closer to the third round Sterling had no knock out strength at all.

Wrestling could have helped Aljamain but he failed to perform anything decisive in this aspect too. It’s not that Sterling is an ordinary fighter, he is very talented. The point is that Yan has always trained with the best, it’s unlikely that somebody in the UFC can surprise him.

Aljamain realizes that his main task is to get to the very finish of the fight and keep the belt. It’s quite unlikely that he will waste his forces on wrestling or trying to win by knockout.

Chances of Aljamain Sterling to win

Aljamain doesn’t have an obvious advantage in fighting and wrestling. His min chance to win is if Petr Yan is overly aggressive which leads to him to making mistakes.

Fighters in a rage tend to attack, forgetting about the lessons learned previously, and can miss the punches easily. Of course, Petr Yan is not usually that kind of a fighter but you can never guess what will be his mood when he enters the Octagon.

The opponent may underrate Sterling which can increase his chances to win. So can constant pressing. If Aljamain does manage to go through all five rounds attacking Petr Yan with a series of punches fairly accurately, he will be able to win by decision.

Aljamain Sterling’s last five bouts

Besides the first fight versus Yan, Sterling has won twice by submission and twice by decision.

Yan - Sterling: Tips for the fight

Taking into account what everyone saw in the first fight, this time Petr should finish what he started in March 2021, winning over Sterling closer to the 4th-5th round. Yan is a careful fighter. He always listens to what his coaches say. Although remember that they were the people who made him kick Sterling with the knee.

Both he and his coaches spent too much time exploring the opponent’s way of fighting. They made Sterling check the distance with jabs and side punches.It’s doubtful that Aljamain Sterling will be able to show a unique game plan in the standing fight, especially considering that his punching skills have always been worse than his wrestling ones.

However, if Yan doesn’t manage to knock out Aljamain, the referees will not give the Russian fighter a win by decision. Petr Yan has got the reputation of being a dirty fighter among referees after the first bout. Besides, referees do not often make a decision in favor of a contender.

Petr Yan

3/10

Aljamain Sterling

13/5

Frequently Asked Questions