After another dominant victory July 26 against Marcus Magee, Petr Yan has made it very clear he is still one of the very elite fighters at bantamweight and is very deserving of a title shot.
Petr Yan Puts On Masterclass In The Desert
Petr Yan put on a classic performance against Marcus McGhee two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, showing that there are truly levels to this game. Going into this fight there were sceptics saying that McGhee would be the one to match Petr Yan’s craftiness since he was one of Sean O’Malley’s main sparring partners back in October of 2022 when O’Malley got the better of Yan in a very close fight in Abu Dhabi.
Although McGhee was having success in the first round and parts of round two, Yan took his time making his reads and finally pounced as he began landing strikes at will. Petr began mixing it up with his elite striking and jaw-dropping sweeps as he went on to win by unanimous decision.
What’s Next for Petr Yan?
That is now 3 straight definitive wins for Petr Yan all against up and coming contenders in the bantamweight division. So what is next for him? A title shot would be the easiest answer, yet it’s also not that simple. Yan has already faced the bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili back in 2023 and it’s safe to say Merab dominantly won that fight and imposed his will taking it to a unanimous decision victory.
One can understand the hesitancy the UFC has in wanting to run that fight back but we can also make the argument that Sean O’Malley was given the rematch for the title after losing to Merab Dvalishvili quite convincingly without having any tune-up fights.
Dvalishvili will make his next title defence against Cory Sandhagen on UFC 320 in October, and you can assume that Petr Yan would be next in line to have his shot at the title against the winner of that fight. But if he was to run it back with the favourite Dvalishvili what changes would he have to make in order to find himself victorious in his rematch with the current champion?
Dvalishvili’s Weakness in Potential Petr Yan Rematch
It’s no secret, Merab Dvalishvili’s cardio is off the charts and is one of the main reasons he has so much success against his opponents. It is almost impossible to keep up with his pace, relentless pressure, and heavy takedown approach that he has. So how do you beat him?
Dvalishvili’s standup game has never been his strong suit, we have seen him get hurt against Marlon Moraes, Henry Cejudo and even had a lot of difficulty figuring out the striking of Umar Nurmagomedov in the first two rounds of their fight before Nurmagomedov began to slow down from the inhumane pace of Merab Dvalishvili.
How Can Petr Yan Beat Merab?
Petr Yan being one of the highest level strikers in the UFC, must be able to implement a strategy to be in and out with his striking. If he stays too long in the pocket Merab will make the fight exhausting for Yan like their previous bout was, but if Petr can mix up his striking and use his elite grappling to avoid getting taken down and stay off the fence, it could very well be a very different fight from the last one.
