Petr Yan, UFC's forgotten man at 135, is quietly building back toward the title

Petr Yan’s Redemption Arc Hits Abu Dhabi

Once the king of UFC’s bantamweight jungle, Petr Yan has endured a streak that nearly buried his legacy—but he’s not done writing his story. On Saturday, he faces Marcus McGhee in Abu Dhabi, a bout that could either cement his comeback or relegate him further from title contention.

📉 From Glory to Grit

  • After losing the title via an illegal knee to Aljamain Sterling in 2021, Yan hit a painful slide: controversial split decision losses to Sterling again and Sean O’Malley, followed by a beatdown from Merab Dvalishvili.

  • Injuries and optics worsened things. In his fight against Merab, he was taken down 11 times, and was nursing a hand injury he claims kept him from punching effectively.

💪 Back on Track

  • Yan’s quiet rebuild began at UFC 299, where he took two out of three rounds against Song Yadong.

  • He then dismantled Deiveson Figueiredo in Macau last November, sweeping all five rounds—a performance that screamed vintage “No Mercy” Yan.

🔮 The Stakes vs McGhee

  • McGhee is undefeated in his UFC run since 2023 and sees Yan as the perfect stepping stone.

  • But Yan, now 32 and sharper than ever, insists he’s at his peak mentally and technically: “I’m going to show you for the real martial artists… there’s levels to this”.

📆 The Bigger Picture

  • With Merab defending the belt again this October against Cory Sandhagen, the outcome of that clash—and Yan’s performance this Saturday—could set up a trilogy or redemption fight.

















 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sussex Graduate Scholarship 2025: A Gateway to Excellence

Adani Group Proposes $1.85 Billion Investment for JKIA Expansion

India’s Gig Economy: A Rapidly Expanding Workforce