'What do you say now?'… Petr Yan sends message to Merab Dvalishvili after flawless win over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Macau
11/23/2024 10:24 AM
In the main event of UFC Macau early this morning, former bantamweight champion Petr Yan showed 'No Mercy' to his illustrious opponent as he left the 'God of War' battered and bruised following a five-round masterclass.
The popular Russian bantamweight was keen to make the most of his time with the UFC microphone, calling out champion Merab 'The Machine' Dvalishvili for a long-awaited rematch – this time, with UFC gold on the line.
Petr Yan calls out champion Merab Dvalishvili after UFC Macau masterclass
Aside from a flash knockdown and eating some nasty body shots, Petr Yan put on a flawless performance as he outwrestled and outstruck former flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo over the course of 25 hard-fought minutes.
The judges' scorecards ultimately read 50-45, 50-45, and 50-45 in favor of 'No Mercy', with the official stats page showing that Yan had comprehensively out-landed Figueiredo 121-53 on significant strikes.
"I felt that I led in the fight, but you know, anything can happen in the UFC," Yan stated to Michael Bisping after the totals were announced, a reference to some dubious judging that he's faced in the past.
Yan entered the UFC Macau main event as the #3 ranked bantamweight contender in the world, only behind former champion Sean O'Malley and undefeated phenom Umar Nurmagomedov.
Whilst the UFC had been pushing to make Dvalishvili vs Nurmagomedov next, Yan was keen to throw his name into the hat as an alternative option; especially after Dvalishvili had been vocal about his desire to face the man he’d just bested.
"Hey guys, before my fight, Merab told 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!"
Dvalishvili hasn't responded directly to the callout, although he was posting throughout the UFC Macau main event: "What a great fight," he wrote on X, followed by "I'm impressed [by] Petr Yan's performance tonight."
It wasn't just Dvalishvili who was impressed by Yan's performance at UFC Macau, with the wider MMA community also hailing the masterful beatdown on social media.
With the win at UFC Macau, Petr Yan improved his professional record to 18-5, he is now riding a two-fight winning streak.
