Petr Yan admits he was badly rocked by Deiveson Figueiredo during UFC Macau masterclass… 'I got lost for a moment'
Yesterday at 09:20 AM
Former bantamweight champion Petr 'No Mercy' Yan proved that even after an extended period on the sidelines with injury, he's still UFC championship material as he beat the brakes off the 'God of War' at UFC Macau.
Yet despite winning the fight 50-45 on all three of the judges' scorecards, the popular Russian didn't have it all his own way; admitting at the post-fight press conference that he was badly hurt in the fourth round.
Petr Yan admits he was rocked by Figueiredo in the fourth round
In the main event of UFC Macau yesterday morning, Petr Yan beat former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo from pillar to post, with the Russian out-landing the 'God of War' 121-53 on significant strikes.
Whilst the performance was indeed a masterclass on Yan's part, he certainly didn't have it all his own way as Figueiredo landed a flash knockdown in the fourth – although it wasn't recorded as an official KD.
"I'm very glad that I won, Figueiredo is a really tough opponent, and he showed that he's championship caliber," stated Yan at the post-fight press conference, before revealing just how badly he was hurt in that fourth round.
"When he landed this knockdown with his punch, I thought 'It's not New Years yet but the fireworks have already started' – maybe I got lost for a little second.
"But I recovered pretty fast and knew what was going on; this is a tough sport, anything can happen, so you have to be ready."
Despite being badly rocked, Yan would still go on to win the fourth round on all three of the judges' scorecards: "You can't relax at any second, everybody can surprise you even in the last second of a fight."
- OUCH: Former UFC heavyweight suffers sickening 12-second KO at McGregor's latest bare-knuckle boxing event
Speaking with McKenzie Pavacich via ESPN MMA, Yan explained that he was particularly proud of his performance and his ability to recover, given that he'd only just returned from injury.
"It's only eight months since my surgery, I had rehab on my knee and I think after an eight-month layoff, it's not a bad performance.
“When Figgy started to brawl with me, when he started to get back, I thought it was going to be a good night, a good fight but in the end, I'm the only one who is going to be standing."
Yan sends defiant message to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC Macau masterclass
After the judges' scorecards were announced, Yan would send a defiant message to bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili – who had been pushing for a fight with Figueiredo prior to No Mercy's masterclass in Macau.
"Hey guys, before my fight, Merab told us that Deiveson Figueiredo was the number one contender who deserved the [next] title fight – I want to say to Merab, what do you say now?!
"When I've beaten the number one contender in my division, I want to do a rematch with Merab – let's get him!"
Only a few hours later, Dvalishvili accepted Yan's fight offer by posting a video of him wearing the UFC belt, attached to a moving car, with the caption: "LFG Petr Yan, March 8th #UFC313 T Mobile, Las Vegas."
That post certainly didn't sit well with #2 ranked Umar Nurmagomedov, who launched his own social media tirade as he suggested that Dvalishvili was scared to face him.
