The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi on July 26 where a former champion is back in action.
Fans were critical after Petr Yan was booked against Marcus McGhee due to the big difference between their current standings in the bantamweight division.
That being said, McGhee has been on a good run and you can never turn down an opportunity to watch ‘No Mercy’ compete.
The former bantamweight champion has some big wins under his belt, with Yan beating Deiveson Figueiredo last time out.
Before Yan stopped Jose Aldo to win the vacant title in 2020, he cemented his status as one of the very best by dismantling another legend of the sport in style.
Petr Yan dominated Urijah Faber before putting the legend away with a head kick
At UFC 245 in December of 2019, Petr Yan looked to extend his UFC winning streak to six when facing off against a true pioneer of the sport.
Urijah Faber had initially retired from MMA in 2016 before he returned three years later and showed that he still had more to give by knocking out Ricky Simon in the first round.
Fans were excited to see ‘The California Kid’ produce another stellar moment but for many, the writing was on the wall heading into the promotion’s event in Las Vegas.
Yan was a huge -550 favorite at UFC 245 and this proved to be accurate after he dominated the fight.
A technical first round went the way of the Russian but in the second round, he took things to another level, earning a 10-8 on all three scorecards after dropping Faber with a big combination before doing it again with a huge elbow.
After doing a lot of damage to his opponent, Yan lived up to his nickname in the third by putting a cherry on top of his performance, stopping Faber with a head kick.
‘The California Kid’ didn’t compete for the UFC again, though he was planning on making a return to the cage earlier this year before the GFL’s schedule of events was cancelled.
Petr Yan called out ‘triple clown’ Henry Cejudo but didn’t get the fight
In his post-fight interview at UFC 245, Petr Yan made it clear that he wanted to face bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo next time out.
We never got to see this matchup with ‘Triple C’ defending the title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 149 before retiring and returning three years later.
Instead, Yan went on to face Jose Aldo for the vacant title, stopping another legend to prove that he was clearly the best bantamweight on the planet.
He would go on to lose the belt in disappointing fashion after being disqualified in his title defense against Aljamain Sterling, bringing a quick end to a UFC title reign that had huge potential.