SI’s MMA Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes runs every Monday.
One errant knee forever changed Petr Yan’s career.
Two years ago, Yan had won 15 of his first 16 bouts. He was reigning bantamweight champion, and he defended the belt against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 in March 2021. Yan dominated, and he was on pace to win by unanimous decision when he made the gravest mistake of his career.
During the fourth round, with a helpless Sterling on the canvas, Yan drilled him with a blatantly illegal knee to the head. Despite receiving a warning only moments before from referee Mark Smith, Yan acted recklessly. And he has been paying the price for it ever since.
Yan’s horrible decision cost him the title, which he dropped by disqualification. While he went on to beat Cory Sandhagen in his ensuing bout to win the interim title, Yan has never regained the undisputed title. He got drubbed by Sterling in their rematch at UFC 273 in April 2022, a fight that Sterling never would have had if he lost their original bout in such a decisive manner. Yan and his team believed he should have defeated Sterling by decision, but there will not be a third meeting any time soon after Yan was demolished this past Saturday by Merab Dvalishvili.
Yan has now lost three in a row. First was the title unification bout against Sterling, followed by a split decision loss to Sean O’Malley—which Yan also lamented should have been scored a win. But Dvalishvili put an end to any debate with a thoroughly one-sided showing over five rounds. That fight against Dvalishvili illustrated the foolishness of Yan’s ill-fated knee. The division has rapidly evolved, with hungry competitors eager to seize the top spots. Instead of protecting his spot atop the division, Yan spit in the face of fate. He recklessly gave away his title, one he will likely never regain.
Bad karma—and incredibly talented opponents—have haunted Yan. Even if he refuses to say it publicly, he will forever regret that illegal knee.
Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t want to challenge Aljamain Sterling; but will it matter?
Dvalishvili has every right to want to avoid a title fight against teammate and best friend Aljamain Sterling, but it appears it will be a nonfactor.
A bout pitting Dvalishvili against Sterling would be phenomenal. They are clearly the two best bantamweights in the UFC. Henry Cejudo possesses an opportunity to change that later this spring when he challenges Sterling at UFC 288, but if Sterling wins, the fight that makes the most sense would be against Dvalishvili.
Except neither of them wants it. Plus, Sterling is set to leave the division and move to featherweight, where a megabout against Alexander Volkanovski looms.
This should all work itself out, permitting Sterling moves to featherweight after he fights Cejudo. That would be beneficial in multiple ways, particularly if Sterling wins (which will be no easy task)—he would set a new record for bantamweight title defenses, move to a weight class that is closer to his natural weight and open the door for Dvalishvili to fight for the vacant title.
That plan is predicated on Sterling’s moving divisions. And, perhaps, defeating Cejudo. Until then, there will be more questions than answers at bantamweight.
Kamaru Usman gets rematch on Saturday
Usman seeks to reclaim his superiority at UFC 286.
Usman was less than a minute from extending his reign of dominance before Leon Edwards knocked him out in stunning fashion last August at UFC 278. He now has his chance to rewrite the end to their story in a trilogy bout against Edwards on Saturday at UFC 286, which will take place in London.
Before the loss, Usman had won 19 fights in a row, including 15 consecutive victories in the UFC. He was mere seconds away from tying Anderson Silva’s 16-fight UFC win streak, but all that history was shattered the second that Edwards knocked him out with a picturesque head kick.
Usman’s place in UFC history is secure, but he undoubtedly will take another leap if he can become a two-time champion. The beauty of this sport is overcoming obstacles, and there is no better way to do it than responding to defeat with another victory.
If Usman wins Saturday, it will be nearly impossible to argue his place among the greats in the welterweight division—and that multiplies if he wins by decision.
Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com . Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
