According to this bantamweight legend, there is only one logical next assignment for UFC Abu Dhabi winner Petr Yan.
Yan has placed himself in a strong position when it comes to his aspirations of a second stint as 135-pound UFC champion.
For a time, the Russian had fallen out of the conversation after losing three straight fights, but he’s since bounced back with a win streak of the same length.
And after the most recent victory on that ongoing run this past Saturday, one former champ sees only one thing in Yan’s future — gold.
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Henry Cejudo says Petr Yan has earned another UFC title shot
Yan lost the UFC bantamweight title via disqualification against Aljamain Sterling in 2021. Defeats to ‘Funk Master’ in a rematch, Sean O’Malley, and Merab Dvalishvili followed, denting his hopes of a return to the throne.
But Yan’s UFC Abu Dhabi win over Marcus McGhee continued his resurgence. ‘No Mercy’ had already rebounded with strong performances against a pair of top-10 contenders in Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo.
With that, the Russian wants his chance for either redemption against Dvalishvili or to repeat his 2021 interim title win over the Georgian’s next challenger, Cory Sandhagen.
Former two-division UFC king Henry Cejudo, for one, supports Yan’s claim to a shot.
“Petr Yan vs the winner of Merab/Sandhagen. Book it #UFCAbuDhabi,” Cejudo wrote on X.
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Petr Yan claimed he was guaranteed a title shot before accepting Marcus McGhee fight
Yan may have already had the spot that Cejudo is pitching before pushing for a return at UFC Abu Dhabi.
After fan confusion over the McGhee matchup, Yan claimed he was guaranteed a title shot against the winner of Dvalishvili vs. Sandhagen at UFC 320 but opted to risk that opportunity in order to instead stay active.
“I was told that I can wait and I’ll be next in line for the title but I don’t want to wait and I don’t want to be an inactive fighter,” Yan told Gorilla Energy. “I want to fight twice this year, if possible.
“I am ready to fight, I expressed my desire, and they found me an opponent. All the fighters in the top five or even top 10 are busy right now. Some of them already have fights scheduled. Some have other reasons.
“I just wanted to fight in July, they found me an opponent, and I’m ready,” he continued.
Yan certainly was ready, and now his sights are back on the UFC gold that he formerly held.