On Saturday, the UFC strengthened its immediate future in the men’s bantamweight division.
Dana White and Co. have returned an important piece to the matchmaking puzzle. Former champion Petr Yan announced on social media that he’d signed a three-year contract extension with the promotion.
Yan is currently ranked No. 3 in the UFC men’s bantamweight rankings and is scheduled to face former flyweight champion and No. 5 Deiveson Figueiredo at the main event of UFC Macau on November 23.
It’s a massive fight for the division and Yan. He wants a shot at regaining his title, and that starts with turning back Figueiredo.
The fight won’t be easy for Yan. Figueiredo has battled his way into the Top 5 in the 135-pound division. If he can defeat Yan, Figueiredo will put himself on a short list of fighters who could challenge Merab Dvalishvili for a title in his second division.
5 Fast Facts About Petr Yan
Former UFC Bantamweight Champion
Yan held the UFC Bantamweight Championship from July 2020 to March 2021. He won the vacant title when he scored a fifth-round TKO victory over Jose Aldo. Yan lost his title when he was disqualified for hitting Aljamain Sterling with an illegal knee.
Master of Sport in Boxing
Before Yan took up mixed martial arts, he achieved the rank of Master of Sport in boxing in the 64 kg weight category in his native Russia.
This accomplishment is why Yan has among the best boxing skills in the UFC’s bantamweight division.
Mixed Heritage
Yan has a special spot on the UFC Macau card. He was born to a father of mixed Chinese and Georgian-Russian descent and a Russian mother, and that heritage may have contributed to his landing on the Macau card.
Professional Record
Yan’s professional MMA record stands at 17 wins and five losses. As mentioned, one of his losses came via disqualification. He has lost three of his last four fights, though two came from controversial split decisions.
Recent Victory
Yan secured a much-needed unanimous decision win over Song Yadong at UFC 299 in March. It snapped his losing streak and positioned Yan for the spot against Figueiredo on the Macau card, and the contract extension.
UFC Macau Card
Here is a look at the entire card scheduled for Macau.
- Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
- Xiaonan Yan vs. Tabatha Ricci
- Ozzy Diaz vs. Mingyang Zhang
- Kenan Song vs. Muslim Salikhov
- Cong Wang vs. Gabriella Fernandes
- Volkan Oezdemir vs. Carlos Ulberg
- Carlos Hernandez vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel
- Xiaocan Feng vs. Ming Shi
- Kiru Sahota vs. Dong Hoon Choi
- Su Young You vs. Balgyn Jenisuly
- Kangjie Zhu vs. Bin Xie
- Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Jose Ochoa
- Long Xiao vs. Quang Le
- Maheshate Hayisaer vs. Nikolas Motta
The card is heavy on Asian talent and is being slept on. The co-main event is a crucial one for the strawweight division. The winner will be closer to a title shot. Also, rising star Cong Wang gets another fight in the UFC.
She could be a future women’s flyweight title challenger.
Be on the lookout for fight week coverage leading up to the event.
