Petr Yan News

Harry Kettle - October 14, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili isn’t worried about burnout as he prepares to defend his UFC bantamweight championship once again. For the fourth time this year, Merab Dvalishvili has been booked to defend his UFC world title. He will do so against Petr Yan at UFC 323 in a rematch of their fascinating first encounter a few years back. On that occasion, Merab managed to get the win, pushing him closer to an eventual crack at the gold.

Curtis Calhoun - October 13, 2025

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili got his wish for a quick turnaround after his latest victory just weeks ago at UFC 320. UFC CEO Dana White announced on Monday that UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, who defeated Cory Sandhagen just weeks ago at UFC 320, will headline UFC 323 in December.

Curtis Calhoun - October 7, 2025

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan revealed he fought Merab Dvalishvili significantly compromised ahead of a likely rematch. UFC bantamweight titleholder Merab Dvalishvili retained his title in largely dominant fashion against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 last Saturday. Despite Sandhagen proving to be a tough test on the feet, Dvalishvili challenged Sandhagen with his vastly improved striking en route to a decision victory.

Harry Kettle - October 5, 2025

UFC bantamweight contender Petr Yan has made it clear that he wants to fight Merab Dvalishvili in his next outing. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili was as impressive as ever at UFC 320 last night. He defeated Cory Sandhagen to successfully defend his UFC bantamweight championship for the third time and now, fans are already starting to look ahead to what could be next for him. On paper, it doesn’t seem as if there are any immediate challenges that lie in front of him – but Petr Yan disagrees with that assessment.

Harry Kettle - August 1, 2025

Aljamain Sterling has explained why his former rival Petr Yan is such a special fighter after his win over Marcus McGhee. Following his recent win over Marcus McGhee, Petr Yan has now won three on the bounce in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. While we all know that the bantamweight division is absolutely stacked, there’s every chance that he could earn himself another crack at the title in the not-so-distant future.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 27, 2025

Petr Yan isn’t entertaining the idea of a showdown with Umar Nurmagomedov. Yan competed in the co-main event of UFC Abu Dhabi this past Saturday. He went one-on-one with Marcus McGhee in a bout that many considered to be a potential trap fight. The bout went the distance and Yan ultimately scored the unanimous decision victory. With the win, “No Mercy” is now hoping to secure another bantamweight title fight.

Cole Shelton - July 24, 2025

Petr Yan is hoping to secure the next bantamweight title shot at UFC Abu Dhabi. Yan is set to take on McGhee in an intriguing fight, as the American is taking a massive step-up in competition. Although Yan could have gotten a title shot, he took this fight to cement himself as the next title contender.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 23, 2025

Petr Yan is viewing his next fight as an audition for another UFC title opportunity. Yan, a former UFC Bantamweight Champion, will go one-on-one with Marcus McGhee at UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday. While some are wondering if this could be a trap fight for Yan, “No Mercy” is motivated by what he believes will be a high-stakes matchup.

Harry Kettle - June 8, 2025

UFC bantamweight Petr Yan has hit out at former rival Sean O’Malley following the latter’s loss at UFC 316 last night. As we know, Sean O’Malley challenged Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC bantamweight championship on Saturday evening. It served as the main event of UFC 316, and while ‘Suga’ certainly showed improvements in some areas, he ultimately wasn’t able to stand up to the overwhelming power and wrestling ability of Dvalishvili. In the end, ‘The Machine’ earned an impressive third round submission victory.

Harry Kettle - June 4, 2025

Former UFC champion Sean O’Malley has named the hardest-hitting opponent he’s faced in the promotion. This weekend, Sean O’Malley will attempt to do what a lot of ex-champions have struggled to do in the Ultimate Fighting Championship – win back their gold. He’ll try and do so against the man who took it from him last year, Merab Dvalishvili. While ‘The Machine’ is widely considered to be the favorite, everyone knows that ‘Suga’ possesses the kind of power and precision that can change a fight at any given moment.

BJ Penn Staff - May 30, 2025

Over the last few years, Sean O’Malley has become one of the biggest stars in the UFC. It’s been a dream come true for the bantamweight star, and he remembers the specific fight where he realized everything he had hoped for was becoming a reality. It was in the lead up to a 2022 fight with former bantamweight champ Petr Yan that O’Malley recognized his dreams were coming true. At the time, O’Malley was ranked way below Yan in the bantamweight rankings. So much so that many fans felt the fight was a huge mismatch. In the end, however, O’Malley defeated the former champ by decision in a thrilling, three-round war, cementing himself as a legit title contender in the offing.

Harry Kettle - May 30, 2025

UFC star Petr Yan has been booked against Sean O’Malley’s teammate Marcus McGhee – and fans have some thoughts about it. Over the course of the last five years, Petr Yan has been on an interesting journey. From bantamweight champion to top contender, he’s been through a whole lot of ups and downs. Now, after getting back on the winning trail, he’s trying desperately to vault his way back into contention.

Cole Shelton - May 5, 2025

Cory Sandhagen believes he deserves the next title shot, but is open to taking another fight. Sandhagen scored a second-round stoppage win over Deiveson Figueiredo on Saturday at UFC Des Moines. It got him back in the win column, and after the victory, he called for a title shot.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 14, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili has two possible challengers in mind for his UFC Bantamweight Championship. Dvalishvili is riding high following his impressive performance against Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311. The Georgian titleholder was able to thwart his opponent’s grappling efforts and managed to outwork him for a unanimous decision victory. It was the first successful title defense for Dvalishvili and now he is looking ahead.

Harry Kettle - February 3, 2025

UFC star Petr Yan gave his former bantamweight rival Aljamain Sterling an Oscar in an amusing interaction recently. Petr Yan was once considered to be one of the best pound for pound fighters in the UFC. In the eyes of some, that may still be the case. However, his career suddenly went in a very different direction when he began his rivalry with Aljamain Sterling. Despite controlling most of their first fight, Yan wound up losing the UFC bantamweight championship to Aljamain as a result of an illegal knee.

Josh Evanoff - December 3, 2024

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan wants another crack at Sean O’Malley. ‘No Mercy’ is fresh off his return to the octagon last month in Macau, China. Back for the first time since halting Song Yadong’s rise in March, Petr Yan met Deiveson Figueiredo. For his part, the former flyweight champion was undefeated since moving to bantamweight last year, recently beating Marlon Vera in August.

Harry Kettle - November 26, 2024

Sean O’Malley doesn’t believe that Merab Dvalishvili is overly interested in the idea of fighting Umar Nurmagomedov. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili is the rightful UFC bantamweight champion. He defeated Sean O’Malley to claim the belt for the first time and ever since then, fans have been wondering who he’ll defend against first. Some have suggested an O’Malley rematch, whereas others believe Umar Nurmagomedov and Petr Yan are the top two contenders – especially after the latter’s win over Deiveson Figueiredo last weekend.

Cole Shelton - November 25, 2024

The UFC was in Macau, China on Saturday for UFC Macau, which saw Petr Yan take on Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event. Yan entered the fight coming off a win over Song Yadong. Figueiredo, meanwhile, was coming off a win over Marlon Vera and had gone undefeated since moving up to bantamweight.