Report – Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2 reworked, now co-headlines UFC 273 on April 9.

The UFC bantamweight title unification rematch between Aljamain Sterling and interim titleholder, Petr Yan has been reshuffled once again, with the title offing now slated to co-headline UFC 273 on April 9. At the time of publication, an official location or venue for the event has yet to be determined by the promotion.

Most recently, the rematch of Sterling and Yan was expected to co-main event UFC 272 on March 5. from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada – until the bout was thrown into jeopardy over the weekend. 

As per a report from Ariel Helwani, this Tuesday night, along with the new UFC 273 headliner, Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung – the re-run between Sterling and Yan will now also feature on the April 9. card.

First meeting at UFC 259 last March, Sterling won the undisputed bantamweight championship with a fourth round disqualification win then-titleholder, Yan, after the champion had landed an illegal knee to a downed Sterling as he attempted to return to his feet. 

In the time since, a UFC 267 rematch between the two was shelved after Sterling failed to obtain medical clearance to compete after undergoing invasive neck surgery to address a longstanding neck injury, stemming from his amateur wrestling days.

Remaining on the ‘Fight Island’ card, Yan scooped the interim bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision victory over short-notice replacement, and common-opponent of Sterling, Aurora tactician, Cory Sandhagen.

Ross Markey

Senior writer for FightBook MMA. An aspiring mixed martial arts reporter based in Ireland. Producer of news articles, interviews, opinion features, and exclusive features such as, ‘The Fallout’, ‘The Breakdown, and, ‘This Week In MMA’.