Former bantamweight champion Petr 'No Mercy' Yan proved that even after a long spell on the sidelines with injury, he is still UFC champion material when he stopped the 'God of War' at UFC Macau.
But despite winning the fight 50-45 on all three judges' scorecards, the popular Russian didn't have it all his way; at the post-fight press conference he admitted that he had been badly injured in the fourth round.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Petr Yan admits he was shocked by Figueiredo in the fourth round
In the main event of UFC Macau yesterday morning, Petr Yan defeated former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo from pillar to post, with the Russian defeating the 'God of War' 121-53 with significant striking.
While the performance was indeed a masterclass from Yan, he certainly didn't have it all his way when Figueiredo scored a flash knockdown in the fourth – although it wasn't recorded as an official KD.
“I'm very happy that I won. Figueiredo is a very strong opponent and he showed that he is of championship caliber,” Yan said at the post-fight press conference, before revealing how badly he was injured in that fourth round.
“When he landed this knockdown punch, I thought, 'It's not New Year's yet, but the fireworks have already started' – maybe I was lost for a moment.
“But I recovered quite quickly and knew what was happening; This is a tough sport, anything can happen, so you have to be ready.”
Despite being badly shaken, Yan would still win the fourth round on all three judges' scorecards: “You can't relax at any time, anyone can surprise you, even in the last second of a fight.”
Speaking to McKenzie Pavacich via ESPN MMA, Yan explained that he was particularly proud of his performance and his ability to recover, having only recently returned from injury.
“It's only been eight months since my operation, I've had a rehabilitation period for my knee and I don't think it's a bad performance after an eight-month layoff.
“When Figgy started fighting me, when he started coming back, I thought it was going to be a good night, a good fight, but in the end, I'm the only one left standing.”
Yan sends a challenging message to Merab Dvalishvili during the UFC Macau masterclass
After the judges' scorecards were announced, Yan sent a defiant message to bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili – who had been pushing for a fight with Figueiredo ahead of No Mercy's masterclass in Macau.
“Hey guys, before my fight Merab told us that Deiveson Figueiredo was the number one contender who deserved the title. [next] title fight – I want to say to Merab, what are you saying now?!
“After I beat the number one contender in my division, I want to do a rematch with Merab – let's get him!”
Just a few hours later, Dvalishvili accepted Yan's fight offer by posting a video of himself wearing the UFC belt tied to a moving car, with the caption: “LFG Petr Yan, March 8 #UFC313 T Mobile, Las Vegas.”
That post certainly didn't go down well with No. 2 Umar Nurmagomedov, who launched his own tirade on social media when he suggested Dvalishvili was afraid to face him.
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