Aljamain Sterling Beats Petr Yan Via Decision in Co-Main Event at UFC 273

There's no disputing it now. Aljamain Sterling is the UFC's bantamweight champion after defeating Petr Yan via split decision in the co-main event of UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Florida.

The champion unified his belt with the interim version with his superior grappling in a tightly contested five-round scrap.

After gassing in the first fight it was clear that Sterling wanted to fight at a slower pace in the rematch. The first round was fought at a tepid pace as both fighters had an extended feeling-out period.

That didn't last as the fight descended into Round 2. Sterling got a clinch early on and parlayed it into a takedown and quickly took Yan's back with a body triangle, leaving Yan in a compromised position. He spent the rest of the round in survival mode fighting off Aljo's choke attempts and ground and pound.

The only question was whether it was enough for a 10-8 scorecard:

Sterling once again found his favorite position in the third round. He proved the second frame was no fluke by dragging Yan to the mat and once again becoming his backpack:

The interim champion rebounded in the fourth round. He landed an early left hook that shook Sterling and led to a takedown. He spent the majority of the round in top position and earned himself a round with his own brand of grappling.

With the fight potentially on the line, the fifth round never quite got to the intensity level one might expect. Yan defended several Sterling takedown attempts and had the most exciting moment of the frame with a  flying knee that nearly landed flush.

Sterling's greatest prize with the win is validation. Aljo won the title in less-than-ideal circumstances with his first win over Yan. The former champion was disqualified after landing a knee to the head while Sterling was on the mat.

It was an unfortunate ending for a fighter who had earned his title shot with a five-fight win streak that included a first-round submission of Cory Sandhagen.

There was far less controversy this time around.

Sterling had to deal with the criticism of how he won his belt for over a year. Now, he can put the controversy behind him as the rightful champion of the division.

"I was more annoyed that I couldn't get right back in there in a couple months and just silence everybody," Sterling told E. Spencer Kyte of UFC.com. "It's been a long year with people having post notifications on so they can write clown emojis."

The fact that he came back from neck surgery to fight Yan only makes the win more impressive. The bout was supposed to take place in September 2021, but Sterling still had complications from the procedure.

Now that he's healthy and he's settled the beef with Yan, a lot of possibilities are available for the Funk Master.