MOSCOW, 23 Oct. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, considers Russian Petr Yan the best fighter in the UFC's bantamweight division, despite a scandalous loss to American Sean O'Malley at the 280th numbered tournament. On Saturday evening in Abu Dhabi, Yan lost by split decision. Before that, he also lost to division champion Aljamain Sterling. Both verdicts were ambiguously accepted by experts and the public.
"Congratulations to the Russian fighters who won the fights. But as usual, our Petr Yan has no luck with the judges, although he showed a beautiful and tactful fight. For some reason, the judges decided that his opponent, Sean O'Mally, was more confident. But many, including the spectators of the tournament, do not agree with this. Peter, you are still the best in your weight!" Kadyrov wrote on social networks.
The Russian ex-UFC champion has lost three of the last four fights. He lost the belt after an illegal strike in the first fight with Sterling, after which he defeated American Corey Sandhagen by unanimous decision in a duel for the interim title.