Russian UFC star Yan is a ‘sh*tty person’ & a ‘dirty weasel’ who ‘hates his Chinese descent’, claims bantamweight nemesis Sterling

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan is a "sh*tty person" who is ashamed of his Chinese ancestry, according to returning rival Aljamain Sterling – and the American is not entirely pleased that their rematch is in Abu Dhabi.

Their first fight, in March, saw Sterling handed the 135lbs belt following a disqualification for Yan, who was adjuged to have kneed his grounded foe.

Since then, the pair have been involved in regular verbal spats online, with the Russian's camp constantly pushing for a second meeting.

Following Sterling's successful neck surgery, that is now likely to happen in October at UFC 267, although the king of the division is not too keen on its Abu Dhabi setting over his home state of New York or adopted hometown of Las Vegas.

"To be 100 percent honest with you, I love the date, but I don’t love the location," he admitted to MMA Junkie this week.

"Mainly because of the hours we would have to fight at. I just had one of my worst performances – maybe not the worst – but I had some hiccups on fight day because I didn’t realize how much into the day I fought.

"It would’ve been nice to fight in New York or Vegas again. But October 30 – I’m good with that.”

Sterling does not want to pursue the dead end of taking on the UFC's president over the matter, which usually doesn't end well for fighters.

"I think you guys know how it goes with telling Dana White no, so I don’t think there’s much negotiation here," he accepted.

"If I’m being 100 percent honest and transparent, I don’t think they’re going to give me an opportunity to negotiate that.

"I’m not looking to get in a p*ssing war with Dana again. So if that’s what they want, that’s what they want," he said, sounding resigned to the likelihood of joining a card that will be headlined by the light heavyweight title scrap between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira.

Though he would be open to mending fences with Yan one day, Sterling stressed he is still not a fan of 'No Mercy', claiming on Twitter that he is ashamed of his Chinese ancestry which Sterling says he has through his father.

"I don’t keep grudges, but when someone is a sh*tty person, I just don’t want to be around you," he said.

"So, I’m all about good energy, good vibrations. At the end of the day, we’re going to have a fight. We’re going to go out there and settle the score, and we’ll be able to figure it out.

"If we’re meant to be friends or meant to be cordial, then we’ll do that. But at the end of the day, I have no respect for this guy right now.

"The guy talks so much sh*t for something that he did, and I get the backlash for it, which is the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen in my life."

"He’s got Chinese descent in him and he hates it. Weird as f*ck. Not sure why, but he seems ashamed of who he is: a dirty little weasel."

In the opposite corner, however, Ilyas Khamzin - one of Yan's sparring partners - told Championat he is "glad that the fight will take place in Abu Dhabi".

"You don't need a visa there, and if everything goes well, I'll be there," he explained.

"We have been waiting for so long and now there are some movements. Sterling's coach has confirmed that they are ready on that date. We are waiting for official confirmation."