Russian fighter Petr Yan performed spectacularly at the UFC Macau, where he battled Deiveson Figueiredo and won the fight via unanimous decision.
The bantamweight fighter has been out of the octagon for a couple of months, but he made a big splash with his comeback and is back to winning ways. His bout with Figueiredo started with a fiery exchange, and it seemed Yan was ready to end Figueiredo’s unbeaten record, but his opponent quickly recovered. Yan soon had his opponent on the ground and fired continuous hammer fist and elbow shots. Figueiredo retaliated and landed a few shots, but he was no match for Yan’s speed.
Yan continued with his savage onslaught of blows and body shots that connected. He managed to evade Figueiredo’s takedowns and performed a takedown of his own. Yan continued with the assault in consecutive rounds, delivering savage body kicks and body shots, but by the fifth round, Dieveson got his head in the game and could corner Yan against the fence. He managed to slow down the attacks. Yan was not deterred and landed a one-two combo, but Figueiredo found an opening and scored a takedown before the round came to an end.
In the final round, Yan fired more deadly shots, but he missed a spinning back elbow. The two continued to exchange shots, with both fighters seeking a knockout, but the fight ended without any such luck. Yan emerged victorious with a unanimous decision win over Figueiredo.
After his win, Yan called Merab Dvalishvil out for his next fight.
“I felt that I led in the fight, but anything can happen in the UFC,” Yan said after the win, calling for a shot at Merab Dvalishvili next. “Before my fight, Merab said [me vs. Deiveson Figueiredo] deserves a title fight. I want to say, Merab, what do you say now when I beat the No. 1 contender in my division? I want to do a rematch with Merab. Let’s go.”
The call-out was well received by Dvalishvili who says he is down for a battle with Yan. Great fight, Petr,” Dvalishvili said on Instagram. “I like your callout, and I like your respect. Let’s go again after two years. March 8. T-Mobile [Arena]. Let’s f*cking go.”
Like the Yan vs Figuredo fight, other bouts on the fight card also had a spectacular display of sportsmanship, including the fight between Ming Shi and Feng Xiaocan. The doctor/fighter delivered a vicious head-kick knockout to her opponent in the third round of the bout. The kick led to her opponent being carried out of the octagon in a stretcher, but despite the sad turn of events, Ming’s post-fight conference was friendly and calm, with the Chinese fighter revealing her real-life profession as a doctor and how her parents have no idea about her fighting career.
Ming’s impressive win earned her performance of the Nigh bonus, including other fighters like Zhand Mingyang– who defeated his opponent with a first-round KO over Ozzy Diaz, Gabriella Fernandez–who beat Wang Cong via first-round knockout– and Muslim Salikhov –who floored Song Kenan with a wheel kick in round one.
Main Card
Petr Yan def. Deiveson Figueiredo via unanimous decision
Yan Xiaonan def. Tabatha Ricci via unanimous decision
Muslim Salikhov def. Song Kenan via first-round KO (spinning wheel kick)
Gabriella Fernandes def. Wang Cong via submission (rear-naked choke)
Carlos Ulberg def. Volkan Oezdemir via unanimous decision
Zhang Mingyang def. Ozzy Diaz via first-round TKO (strikes)
Preliminary Card
SuYoung You def. Baergeng Jieleyisi via unanimous decision
DongHun Choi def. Kiru Sahota via first-round KO (punch)
Shi Ming def. Feng Xiaocan via first-round KO (head kick)
Carlos Hernandez def. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel via split decision
Lone’er Kavanagh def. Jose Ochoa via unanimous decision
Xiao Long def. Quang Le via third-round KO (punch)
Nikolas Motta def. Maheshate via unanimous decision
