Khabib Nurmagomedov heard Petr Yan’s corner tell him to KNEE Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259

Petr Yan lost his UFC bantamweight title after getting disqualified for hitting opponent Aljamain Sterling with an illegal knee in the fourth round, even though he was ahead on the judges’ scorecards by 29-28, 29-28, 28-29. The fight started with The Funk Master putting some pressure on the champion and landing some effective knees and strikes. However, the Russian answered back with a knockdown in the very first round, taking over the bout. When it looked like Sterling was losing his grip and the bout was almost over, Yan completely lost his head.

According to the rulebook, fighters are not allowed to land any knee strikes when their opponent is on the ground and Yan did just that. Sterling was down on one knee — which is also classified as a downed opponent — when Yan decided to grab his head and hit him with a brutal knee. Aljamain Sterling fell down almost instantly and after a doctor’s check-up, the referee made the call to stop the fight.

 

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Petr Yan illegal knee: Khabib Nurmagomedov on illegal knee

While doctors and his teammates were trying to get Aljamain Sterling on his feet, commentators and legends Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan tried to make sense of the situation. That’s when UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was at the event to corner his teammate Islam Makhachev, came from behind and told Cormier what he saw from the ringside. Nurmagomedov said that he heard Yan’s corner telling him to kick Sterling while the American was downed.

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When Joe Rogan demanded to run the footage back, Khabib Nurmagomedov can be seen right behind Petr Yan’s corner, so he definitely might have heard what they told their fighter. “Let me tell you what Khabib Nurmagomedov just told us,” Rogan began telling Aljo after the fight. “He (Khabib) was there in the corner, and Petr Yan asked his corner, 'Do I hit him now?' And his corner said, 'Yes, yes, kick him', and then he kneed you in the face, which was totally illegal,” he added.

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Petr Yan illegal knee: Petr Yan apologises to Aljamain Sterling

After the fight, Aljamain Sterling gave an interview to Joe Rogan — against all advice — where he seemed in a lot of pain. He claimed even though he won the title, that’s not the way “I wanted to win”. While Sterling is open for a rematch, Yan apologised to his rival with a tweet, wishing him a speedy recovery. “I didn’t mean to throw an illegal strike, I just made a big mistake and paid for it,” he added.

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Image Source: Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC/ Instagram, UFC Fight Pass