Adrian Yanez on Aljamain Sterling’s Injury: ‘His Body Just Wasn’t Feeling Right for Him’

Recent time spent training with Aljamain Sterling has boosted Adrian Yanez’s confidence, as well as given him some insight into the champ’s injury woes.

In a matter of weeks at UFC Fight Night 198, Yanez (14-3, 3-0 UFC) will attempt a fourth straight win to open his UFC career, hoping to extend his streak of Octagon finishes to four as well. Recently, the Dana White's Contender Series graduate has been testing his skills with current UFC 135-pound titleholder Aljamain Sterling, who was scheduled to defend his belt against Petr Yan at UFC 267 last week before a neck injury forced the “Funk Master” out of the fight. Yanez shared with Sherdog his recollections from the days spent sparring at Serra-Longo Fight Team, including his observation that Sterling did not appear to be 100% recovered.

“We both had [reservations] on a lot of things,” Yanez said. “I know that in some positions, he felt his neck, and there were some positions where he knew he had to pull off a little bit. Honestly, his body just wasn’t feeling right for him. It was something with his nervous system even going on, his body wasn’t reacting the way it should have been like the week before. He initially flew me out because he wanted looks for Yan, he wanted looks for the boxing style for the Yan fight just so he can get little tips and tricks here and there. When he pulled out, it was a shock to me as well, and I was like, ‘Ah, OK,’ but in a lot of positions, he was very timid in some spots.”

Training in Sterling in New York was a sort of litmus test for Yanez, who is more confident than ever that he belongs at the top of the food chain in the bantamweight division. Much as he did before his clash with Randy Costa, the Metro Fight Club representative believes he will finish his upcoming opponent, Davey Grant, within three rounds.

Tudor Leonte started writing about mixed martial arts in 2013 for Italian media outlets. His journey with Sherdog began in 2018 and he now covers One Championship and countless European shows. You can follow him on Twitter @MrTudorLeonte.