Aljamain Sterling is enjoying his well-earned victory lap.
The UFC bantamweight champion unveiled a tongue-in-cheek “apology form” for fans Sunday morning following his decision win over Petr Yan in the co-main event of UFC 273.
“I’m going to need y’all to fill this out and hand it in to me by the end of the work day,” Sterling wrote on social media, adding the same clown emoji he’s become quite familiar with over the past 13 months since his disqualification win over Yan at UFC 259.
Aljamain Sterling is now accepting apologies #UFC273 pic.twitter.com/j1jq3aMagX
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) April 10, 2022
This form offers fans the opportunity to select the reason they are sorry and closes with the statement, “I will hereby respectful Aljamain Stering” and “I will not talk down upon the future-ballot Hall of Famer .”
Sterling (21-3) certainly deserves to relish in his moment. The 32-year-old has been the subject of ridicule from a vocal segment of the MMA community since capturing the title due to an illegal knee suffered in the fourth round of his first fight with Yan in March 2021.
But Sterling had the last laugh Saturday night in Jacksonville, Fla. with a performance which saw Yan lose to him due to Sterling’s striking volume and his back control during the first rounds.
Sterling, who has a 7-fight winning streak, is now expected to take on new challenges to maintain his position at the top of the bantamweight division. He’s already called out former champion T.J. Dillashaw and all signs point to that fight being the next step for the 135-pound division.
