Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan believes a victory this weekend should put him above Umar Nurmagomedov in the pecking order.
Yan is set to headline Saturday's UFC Fight Night in Macau, as the promotion returns to the region for the first time in a decade. Inside the Galaxy Arena, "No Mercy" will do battle with ex-flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo.
For Yan, the upcoming event marks the opportunity for him to secure a first win streak since he captured the 135-pound crown at the expense of José Aldo in 2020. He subsequently went on a difficult 1-4 run before bouncing back against Song Yadong at UFC 299 this past March.
Figueiredo, meanwhile, has enjoyed a perfect start to life as bantamweight, winning all three of his fights to date and most recently getting past Marlon "Chito" Vera in comfortable fashion.
That result left newly crowned champ Merab Dvalishvili branding "Deus Da Guerra" a more worthy first challenger to his reign than the consensus number one contender, Dagestan's Nurmagomedov.
And during an interview with the UFC ahead of his clash with Figueiredo in the "Las Vegas of the East," Yan suggested that the Georgian's stance — which he agrees with — could pave the way for his second dance with "The Machine" in 2025.
Deiveson is a former champ, and also Merab has been saying that he’s the only real deserving challenger for his belt,” Yan said through an interpreter. “So for me, it’s a good opportunity for me to get this position, to beat him and challenge for the belt instead of him.
I believe this is a No. 1 contender’s fight,” Yan continued. “Merab is currently champ, but I believe that he’s not ready to defend his title just yet, especially against Umar. It seems like he is avoiding him. Also, Umar, I believe he maybe needs a couple of good wins too. So, with a win over Deiveson, I believe that I can get back into the title picture and challenge for the belt again.
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Yan fell to a three-fight losing skid in March 2023 when he was handily defeated across five rounds by Dvalishvili. But should he stall Figueiredo's two-division ambitions in Macau this week, "No Mercy" is hoping to have the chance for redemption.
Nurmagomedov would no doubt have something to say about that, however. He's been widely branded next in line for a shot at the gold ever since he outpointed the highly regarded Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi this past August.