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Snaps three-fight losing streak
Yan defeated Yadong Song via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC 299 on Saturday in Miami.
ANALYSIS
Yan entered this fight having lost three in a row and was again in all sorts of trouble, down a round to Song. Yet, as we have seen time and time again from Petr, he battled through a difficult situation and emerged victorious. There wasn't one single thing Yan did to turn this fight around. He didn't land one notable power shot that turned the tide or score a big takedown which led to ground control time. Instead, he got aggressive and made it ugly. Song slowing down definitely helped, but Yan would have been on his way to his fourth straight defeat had he not made a concerted effort to turn the tide. It's important to remember that those three previously mentioned losses came against a former champion in Aljamain Sterling, a current champion in Sean O'Malley and a guy in Merab Dvalishvili that many think is the best bantamweight in the world. Yan is still a player at the top of the 135-pound division.
Yan entered this fight having lost three in a row and was again in all sorts of trouble, down a round to Song. Yet, as we have seen time and time again from Petr, he battled through a difficult situation and emerged victorious. There wasn't one single thing Yan did to turn this fight around. He didn't land one notable power shot that turned the tide or score a big takedown which led to ground control time. Instead, he got aggressive and made it ugly. Song slowing down definitely helped, but Yan would have been on his way to his fourth straight defeat had he not made a concerted effort to turn the tide. It's important to remember that those three previously mentioned losses came against a former champion in Aljamain Sterling, a current champion in Sean O'Malley and a guy in Merab Dvalishvili that many think is the best bantamweight in the world. Yan is still a player at the top of the 135-pound division.
Books match with Yadong Song
The UFC announced Sunday that Yan is scheduled to face Yadong Song in a bantamweight fight at UFC 299 in Miami on March 9.
ANALYSIS
Following consecutive losses to the UFC's current top-three bantamweights, Yan will fight a rising contender next. Song, currently ranked No. 7 in the UFC's bantamweight division, won each of his last two fights. By defeating him, Yan would keep himself immediately relevant in the weight class' championship picture.
Following consecutive losses to the UFC's current top-three bantamweights, Yan will fight a rising contender next. Song, currently ranked No. 7 in the UFC's bantamweight division, won each of his last two fights. By defeating him, Yan would keep himself immediately relevant in the weight class' championship picture.
No-shows Vegas main event
Yan lost to Merab Dvalishvili via unanimous decision (45-50, 45-50, 45-50) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
This was Yan's worst performance with the UFC by a country mile, and it resulted in a defeat which is going to make it extremely difficult for him to climb the mountain once again at 135 pounds. It may have been nothing more than a bad stylistic matchup, but Yan had zero answers for Merab. Petr prefers to sit back and counter his opposition, but you simply cannot do that when facing Dvalishvili. The good news it that Yan defended a whopping 38 takedowns from his opponent. The bad news is that Merab still landed 11 of his tries. Yan actually did a decent job of not getting pinned to the mat for long stretches at a time, but the constant pressure of his opponent resulted in Petr being unable to get anything going offensively. It seems incomprehensible, but Yan has now lost three fights in a row and four of five dating back to March 2021, though one was by DQ and two were of the split-decision variety, including a particularly-questionable one against Sean O'Malley. There was absolutely no question in this one, however. To say Yan finds himself at a career crossroads is a massive understatement.
This was Yan's worst performance with the UFC by a country mile, and it resulted in a defeat which is going to make it extremely difficult for him to climb the mountain once again at 135 pounds. It may have been nothing more than a bad stylistic matchup, but Yan had zero answers for Merab. Petr prefers to sit back and counter his opposition, but you simply cannot do that when facing Dvalishvili. The good news it that Yan defended a whopping 38 takedowns from his opponent. The bad news is that Merab still landed 11 of his tries. Yan actually did a decent job of not getting pinned to the mat for long stretches at a time, but the constant pressure of his opponent resulted in Petr being unable to get anything going offensively. It seems incomprehensible, but Yan has now lost three fights in a row and four of five dating back to March 2021, though one was by DQ and two were of the split-decision variety, including a particularly-questionable one against Sean O'Malley. There was absolutely no question in this one, however. To say Yan finds himself at a career crossroads is a massive understatement.
Taking on new contender
Yan will take on Merab Dvalishvili in a bantamweight bout in the main event of the UFC's March 11 card in Las Vegas, Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
ANALYSIS
Yan is set for his first fight since his loss to Sean O'Malley via a controversial split decision in October. The 29-year-old Yan also lost his previous title bout against Aljamain Sterling in April, marking the first back-to-back losing streak of his 8-3-0 UFC career. The second-ranked bantamweight contender will now take on a much hotter fighter in Dvalishvili. The third-ranked bantamweight contender has won eight consecutive UFC contests dating back to 2018. The 32-year-old Georgian does stand one inch shorter than Yan, though this is offset by a corresponding one-inch reach advantage. Dvalishvili's background in Jiu-Jitsu could also pose a unique set of issues for the boxing-based Yan.
Yan is set for his first fight since his loss to Sean O'Malley via a controversial split decision in October. The 29-year-old Yan also lost his previous title bout against Aljamain Sterling in April, marking the first back-to-back losing streak of his 8-3-0 UFC career. The second-ranked bantamweight contender will now take on a much hotter fighter in Dvalishvili. The third-ranked bantamweight contender has won eight consecutive UFC contests dating back to 2018. The 32-year-old Georgian does stand one inch shorter than Yan, though this is offset by a corresponding one-inch reach advantage. Dvalishvili's background in Jiu-Jitsu could also pose a unique set of issues for the boxing-based Yan.
Victim of horrific judges decision
Yan lost to Sean O'Malley via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 28-29) at UFC 280 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
ANALYSIS
You're going to be hearing about this decision for quite a while, and for good reason. Yan deserved to win this fight. O'Malley looked excellent and performed far better than many expected in what was a back-and-forth war, but in a fight in which both men landed a ton of huge strikes, Yan's grappling should have made the difference. He landed 6-of-13 takedown attempts, good for 5:44 worth of control time. Several of them came at key instances over the course of the bout. Yan is young enough (30 next February) and talented enough to overcome this miscarriage of justice, but with three defeats (two split decisions and a DQ) in his last four bouts dating back to March 2021, his road back to the top of the 135-pound division just got a whole heck of a lot more difficult. On the bright side, he'll take home an extra $50,000 for his efforts, as this bout was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
You're going to be hearing about this decision for quite a while, and for good reason. Yan deserved to win this fight. O'Malley looked excellent and performed far better than many expected in what was a back-and-forth war, but in a fight in which both men landed a ton of huge strikes, Yan's grappling should have made the difference. He landed 6-of-13 takedown attempts, good for 5:44 worth of control time. Several of them came at key instances over the course of the bout. Yan is young enough (30 next February) and talented enough to overcome this miscarriage of justice, but with three defeats (two split decisions and a DQ) in his last four bouts dating back to March 2021, his road back to the top of the 135-pound division just got a whole heck of a lot more difficult. On the bright side, he'll take home an extra $50,000 for his efforts, as this bout was awarded Fight of the Night honors.