5 Fights To Make After UFC 249
3. Aljamain Sterling Vs. Petr Yan
We were expecting to put together a fight between whoever won the UFC bantamweight title tonight. However, since Henry Cejudo decided to retire from MMA competition following his win over former champ, Dominick Cruz, it leaves a gaping hole at the top of a very stacked and exciting division.
It's quite clear that the two best candidates for the now vacant UFC bantamweight title are Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. Both men are on very impressive win streaks, with Sterling having last fought in an exciting shootout against fellow top contender Pedro Munhoz, whereas Yan absolutely annihilated UFC Hall of Famer, Urijah Faber in his most recent bout.
However, with Sterling in the US and Yan in Russia, booking a fight between the two might be quite difficult. There are the obvious travel restrictions that have been set in place and Sterling lives in New York, which is still very much a hotbed for COVID-19.
It's a division full of worthy contenders, so the UFC certainly won't be struggling to fill the spot. However, if we had to choose the next title fight for the 135lb weight class, it would be between these two.