Mar 6, 2021; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Aljamain Sterling punches Petr Yan of Russia in their UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 259 event at UFC APEX on March 06, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports
Aljamain Sterling has been pulled out of his bantamweight title defense at UFC 267 next month, still not medically cleared from neck surgery he underwent in April, per multiple reports.
Sterling was scheduled to fight Petr Yan again on Oct. 30 in Abu Dhabi.
UFC is mulling creating an interim title fight for Yan and a to-be-determined opponent, per the reports. Cory Sandhagen is the frontrunner, per reports.
Sterling won the UFC title in a bout with Yan at UFC 259 in March when the Russian was disqualified for throwing an illegal knee. Sterling had the surgery a month later for lingering issues not related to the March bout.
–Field Level Media