Petr Yan planning to fight ‘Chito’ Vera and Sean O’Malley following his return to the win column at UFC 299
After snapping a three-fight losing skid, Petr Yan already has his next two fights planned out.
Making his first appearance of 2024 inside the Octagon, ‘No Mercy’ delivered a solid showing against rising bantamweight contender Song Yadong in the UFC 299 main card opener. Though the bout was relatively close on the stat sheet, Yan delivered the more punishing blows throughout the second and third rounds, securing him the 29-28 decision on all three scorecards.
Back in the win column, the former bantamweight champion already has some big aspirations, including a fight with one-time UFC title challenger Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
But he’s not stopping there…
“Chito, you are next,” Yan said backstage. “Sean after. I’ll smash these two guys.”
Petr Yan Wants Redemption for Controversial Loss to Sean O’Malley
A couple hours after Yan saw his hand raised inside the Octagon, ‘Chito’ Vera and Sean O’Malley stepped into the main event spotlight at UFC 299 for a rematch nearly four years in the making. O’Malley, who was determined to erase a bitter loss to Vera in August 2020, put on a striking clinic, battering Vera for 25 minutes en route to retaining his 135-pound crown decisively.
With Yan locked in at No. 4 in the rankings and Vera still clinging to his No. 5 slot, a fight between the two would certainly make sense and could be exactly what ‘No Mercy’ needs to secure his own rematch with Sean O’Malley.
Before ‘Sugar’ claimed the bantamweight title with a brutal second-round KO of Aljamain Sterling last year, he had to go through Petr Yan at UFC 280. O’Malley walked away with a razor-close split decision. The result was met with significant skepticism from pundits believing Yan’s six takedowns and more than five minutes of control time were enough to win.
