Russian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, ex- Champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the bantamweight category Petr Yan won a long-awaited victory: at the 299th league tournament in Miami (USA), No Mercy defeated the Chinese Song Yadong, losing during the fight. The streak of three defeats is interrupted!
March 2021 radically changed the Siberian’s professional career. Ian, who owned the belt, brought a prohibited knee down on Aljamain Sterling's head and was disqualified — the title went to the US representative. Then there was a victory over the American Corey Sandhagen, a temporary belt around the waist… And then the black streak began:
- In the spring of 2022, Peter was unable to take revenge from Aljo — a split decision in favor of the champion after five very close rounds;
- Six months later in Abu Dhabi Yang survived a robbery against current titleholder Sean O'Malley. Again, two out of three judges voted not in favor of the fighter from Russia;
- Finally, in March 2023, Peter showed the worst performance in his career, getting hit by a skating rink driven by Georgian Merab Dvalishvili (lost all five rounds).
And now, after spending a year outside the octagon, the Russian received the most important fight against number seven in the ranking Song Yadong. A defeat from which, obviously, would throw Ian even further away from the title race — no chance for error for our athlete.
Peter, as in the best fights, gave away the first round, looking closely and analyzing his opponent. Song Yadong showed himself amazingly at the start: he sharply attacked and deceived with passes to the legs, “threw” to the head and generally worked as the first number… One became afraid for Yang, because the Chinese athlete claimed that he was the best boxer in the weight category up to 61 kg, and was eager to prove it in the octagon.
The student of UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber (who lost to Peter in 2019) was in a great mood for the fight — the game plan worked perfectly. But the underdog’s cardio let him down: closer to the middle of the fight, Ian began to seize the initiative and, thanks to a transfer at the end of the second five minutes, he took the entire round. In the final segment, Song Yadong was completely lost, as if that car was not there, going ahead and “eating” all the blows to the head.
As a result, the Chinese lost the final of the third round. He met the end of the fight with his face covered in blood from a deep cut above his left eye (and, apparently, another wound above his right). The judge's verdict, fortunately, was fair for Ian: 29-28 on all three cards and the favorite's first victory since October 2021.
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"Thank you very much to everyone who supported me. I haven't fought for a whole year and I'm happy to be standing here. This is a very important victory for me. I'm back, I want a tough fight with a tough opponent. The rematch season is open!” said the former UFC champion during an octagon interview.
Despite the Russian’s well-deserved success, it is difficult to turn a blind eye to the alarm bells. This was an athlete who did not look like the example of the coolest meetings with the already mentioned Faber and Sandhagen, as well as the legendary Brazilian Jose Aldo. The Chinese caused a lot of problems for Yang, and after defeating Song Yadong, the fourth number one in the ranking needs serious work in the next training camp.
Who will be the new test for Peter? The athlete himself hints at second meetings with “Sugar” O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. The latter now makes no sense to accept a rematch with the Russian — the more obvious option is the loser in the title fight between Sean and the Ecuadorian Marlon Vera. Or a repeat of the spectacular battle with Corey — these are all the available options from the top 5 rating.