Aljamain Sterling became UFC bantamweight champion in a shocking way Saturday in Las Vegas as an illegal knee forced a stoppage to his fight against Petr Yan.

1. Black Mma Fighters List
2. Top Mma Fighters

With Sterling grounded, Yan held Sterling's arms and kneed the challenger in the face, which is an illegal strike. The fight was paused and after the cage doctor confirmed that Sterling could not continue, Yan was disqualified.

The world watched as Sterling struggled to get up and then was awarded the UFC belt. Sterling threw it to the ground and then fell to the Octagon floor in tears, stating in a postfight interview that this wasn't the way he wanted to win it.

Here's what UFC fighters had to say about the controversial moment at UFC 259.

Black Mma Fighters List

1. Suspended fighters. The list below is based on fighters suspended either by (1) United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) or World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for violation of taking prohibited substances or non-analytical incidents, (2) by local commissions on misconduct during the fights or at event venues, or (3) by UFC.
2. The original Ultimate Fighter doesn’t get a ton of respect from the MMA community as a whole, mostly because his popularity has led to him being viewed as overrated.

Top Mma Fighters

Paul Varelans, one of UFC’s original fighters, reportedly died on Saturday from COVID-19 complications. A family member confirmed Varelans' passing to MMA Junkie on Saturday.