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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Farah Hannoun, The Blue Corner

VIDEO: Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan share respectful encounter ahead of UFC 280

Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan may be rivals, but that doesn’t mean they don’t respect each other.

Ahead of their respective bouts at UFC 280 on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi, bantamweight champion Sterling and ex-champ Yan crossed paths in Dubai and shared a cordial moment.

Yan, who meets Sean O’Malley at Etihad Arena, shook Sterling’s hand and the pair exchanged a few words. Sterling competes on the same night when he defends his title against T.J. Dillashaw in the co-headliner.

You can watch their encounter below courtesy of Sterling’s Twitter:

Sterling and Yan shared the octagon twice. Their first fight at UFC 259 ended by disqualification when Yan struck Sterling with an illegal knee. The unfortunate ending caused bad blood to ensue, and Yan accused Sterling of acting and faking the pain. The pair rematched at UFC 273, and Sterling silenced the doubters and used his grappling to win the fight.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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