UFC 259: Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling Picks and Predictions

Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling face off on Saturday in the bantamweight title bout for a main card showdown at UFC 259 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Petr “No Mercy” Yan comes into this fight with a 15-1 record overall and since coming into the UFC he has a perfect 7-0 record. Yan’s last fight was for the title against Jose Aldo and near the end of the fight in the 5th round, he was able to win by knockout. Yan is averaging 6.37 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.25 significant strikes per minute. Yan is also averaging 1.46 successful takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 52 percent of the attempts. Yan also does a good job of not getting taken down, stopping them 88 percent of the time when his opponents try it. 

On the other side of this matchup is Aljamain “Funk Master” Sterling who comes into this game with a 19-3 record overall and he has won five fights in a row. Sterling’s last fight came against Cory Sandhagen and it was early in the first round that he was able to lock in a rear naked choke and come away with the victory. Sterling is averaging 4.82 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 1.94 significant strikes per minute. Sterling is also averaging 1.89 takedowns every 15 minutes but he is only successful on 29 percent of the takedown attempts. Sterling is also stopping 51 percent of her opponents' takedown attempts. Sterling really doesn’t have knockout power, but he does have success with submissions with two of his last five fights ending in that way.