Petr Yan on UFC 259 DQ loss to Aljamain Sterling: 'I didn't mean to do an illegal shot'

LAS VEGAS – Although it was ruled intentional, Petr Yan says he didn’t mean to commit a foul against Aljamain Sterling.

The Russian fighter lost his bantamweight title Saturday at UFC 259 after landing an illegal knee on Sterling (20-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in the fourth round of their championship bout.

Yan (15-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) connected with a hard knee while Sterling sat on his right leg with his knee on the canvas – making Sterling a grounded opponent and illegal to attack with a knee or kick to the head, according to the rules. Dazed from the blow, Sterling immediately hit the canvas. After Sterling was unable to continue, referee Mark Smith deemed the result a disqualification loss for Yan.

“You saw everything. I don’t even know what to say,” Yan told reporters, including MMA Junkie, through an interpreter at the UFC Apex. “Before the fight, the referee was paying a lot of attention about the hand position when the fighter is grounded or not. I was too focused on his hands, and I forgot about his legs. Obviously I didn’t mean to do an illegal shot.”

(ESPN+ screenshot)

Yan wasn’t aware he landed an illegal shot as soon as it happened.

“No, I didn’t realize that,” Yan said. “For a while, I thought that I did everything right and didn’t think he was downed.”

Sterling became the first fighter in UFC history to earn a championship due to disqualification. He was unhappy to get a hold of his first UFC title in that fashion and dropped the UFC belt on the canvas immediately after being crowned champion.

“It sucks, and I think him as a fighter he also don’t want to accept the belt this way,” Yan said. “And if he’s going to be healthy, hopefully we have the rematch soon.”