Petr Yan vs Deiveson Figueiredo UFC Macau RESULT: Former champion dominates in five round slug-fest

Petr Yan was at his dominant best as he defeated Deiveson Figueiredo over the five-round distance in the early hours of UFC Macau on Saturday morning.

The bantamweight duo are both former UFC world champions and understood that this could be their last chance to take a shot at Merab Dvalishvili's title. And after the pair promised excitement with their respective head-turning styles, they largely hit the ground running.

They had some tough acts to follow after a series of vicious stoppages, and it looked like Figueiredo was more eager to put it on the floor early. But Yan managed to get him back to his feet, where he showed off his impressive punching power over the five rounds.

Petr Yan defeated Deiveson Figueiredo by unanimous decision

The first round started with the Brazilian showing he was capable of landing the takedown, but it was actually Petr Yan who managed to take control once he got off his back. Deiveson Figueiredo had spoken out about his belief that the Russian was limited on the ground during the build-up before the fight.

But he did well to get back up, and in the second round he managed to show off his superior striking and began to take control of the proceedings. His uppercut was the punch of choice as he managed to land seemingly at will.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

The third was the clearest of the evening for Yan, as he dropped Figueiredo with one of his big uppercuts as his rival looked for a level change. He pushed for the finish but failed to make it, making an aggressive start into fourth.

He immediately got the Brazilian down again at the start of the championship rounds and managed a takedown. The fight had to be stopped for a few seconds in the fourth because Figueiredo had his mouthpiece turned off.

Towards the end of the fourth it looked like the tide was starting to turn for Figueiredo, and the Brazilian started the fifth strongly. Neither man seemed to slow down heading into the final championship round, pushing to the finish with big power shots.

Although Figueiredo came on very strongly as the finish line approached, he failed to get the all-important stoppage that could have saved him. And Yan cruised to a second straight victory with a 50-45 scorecard across the board in his pursuit of another title run.

Merab Dvalishvili considered the UFC Macau main event as a true number one contender

Over the past few months, it has seemed like Umar Nurmagomedov is the top contender at 135 pounds. But leading up to Saturday's main event, indications from champion Dvalishvili were that he believed the winner of this fight had a more legitimate claim to a shot at his belt.

Both men have previously won gold in the promotion, and it appears Dvalishvili isn't convinced the undefeated Nurmagomedov has done enough to cement himself as the top contender. “Merab's plan is to fight me. He has already made it pretty clear,” Figueiredo said before the fight.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

“He wants to fight me, he wants to test himself against me. I want to win this fight now so we can fight for the title. I want this chance against him too. Dana, send me the contract so I'm ready to fight him.

“I'm 36 and I have no time to lose. I'll stay active after this fight, just waiting for my opportunity when they call me… [Yan] opens himself up a lot, and we did our best to make sure we knock him out and earn our shot at the belt.

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