That’s three straight wins for former UFC champion Petr Yan.
Marquee names headline UFC Abu Dhabi this Saturday. Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and former two-time bantamweight champion Petr Yan defend their top-5 rankings against rising contenders Reinier de Ridder and Marcus McGhee.
Despite being told to wait for a UFC title fight, Yan decided to stay active and fight way down the ladder against #12-ranked McGhee—similar to how Yan fought his low-ranked teammate Sean O’Malley in 2022.
It’s a massive step-up in competition for the 35-year-old McGhee, who’s 4-0 in the UFC.
Yan took his undefeated UFC record and dreams of becoming a UFC champion.
Petr Yan defeats Marcus McGhee in close contest at UFC Abu Dhabi
It was a striking affair between Yan and McGhee, with both men standing their ground in the opening round.
Yan connected with a left hand two minutes in and the bantamweights exchanged strikes, with McGhee outlanding Yan towards the end of the round.
The former champ sent McGhee back with a beautiful step-in elbow to the face. Yan continued to stalk McGhee, opening up a cut on his face. McGhee wouldn’t back down, throwing shots right back at Yan. Yan returned with a flying knee.
Yan ripped punches to the body and to the head, effectively utilizing his jab.
In the third round, Yan pulled out his grappling and took down McGhee, with his opponent getting right back up. Yan controlled McGhee against the cage for much of the round.
Yan attempted a kimura in the final seconds of the third round and made it to the distance. Yan defeated McGhee via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
After the win, Yan called out the winner of Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen.
Petr Yan could face winner of Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen
Yan’s win over McGhee comes a few days after the next bantamweight title fight was announced.
In the co-main event of UFC 320, champion Dvalishvili will defend his title for a third time against perennial contender Sandhagen.
Yan has faced both men before, defeating Cory Sandhagen to win the interim bantamweight title in 2021, but the former champ lost a lopsided decision to Dvalishvili in 2023.
Yan has won three straight fights, with victories over McGhee, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Song YaDong—all ranked contenders.