Petr Yan to Defend Bantamweight Title vs. Aljamain Sterling at UFC 256

Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling will fight for the bantamweight title in the co-main event of UFC 256.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the plan to ESPN's Brett Okamoto, but Okamoto added no formal agreements had been reached at that point.

ESPN's Ariel Helwani reported Oct. 5 that UFC was having to move on from Kamaru Usman's welterweight title defense against Gilbert Burns as the main event for UFC 256 on Dec. 12.

Conor McGregor tweeted on Oct. 8 that he had agreed to end his retirement and fight Dustin Poirer, clarifying that he wanted to step inside the Octagon before the calendar turned over to 2021. He floated the date for UFC 256 as one option.

Naturally, that led to some excitement about a McGregor return in mid-December. Helwani speculated Wednesday's announcement signals the former featherweight and lightweight champion won't be fighting this year.

Bleacher Report's Tom Taylor wrote on Tuesday that Yan vs. Sterling would be a logical solution to fill the vacant co-main event slot for UFC 256:

"Sterling has long believed himself worthy of a UFC bantamweight title shot, and after his win over Sandhagen, he finally seems to have the confidence of the person from whom he needs it most: UFC President Dana White. [...]

"Would this bantamweight title fight turn UFC 256 into a blockbuster? Certainly not, but it's a great matchup, and when sold alongside an appearance from the sport's greatest female fighter in Amanda Nunes, it would likely be a sufficient headliner."

Yan, who boasts a 15-1 record, earned a fifth-round TKO victory over Jose Aldo at UFC 251 on July 12 to become the bantamweight champion. Sterling is the No. 1-ranked bantamweight challenger after winning his past five fights, the last of which was a first-round submission of Cory Sandhagen at UFC 250 in June.

Yan and Sterling will share co-main event status with Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson, who will be fighting for Nunes' women's featherweight championship.