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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matthew Wells and Ken Hathaway

After UFC 299 victory, Petr Yan wants champ Sean O’Malley or Merab Dvalishvili to begin ‘rematch season’

MIAMI – Petr Yan is back on the winning track, and wants to run it back against the last two fighters to put losses on his record.

The former UFC bantamweight champion picked up a much-needed unanimous decision win over Yadong Song at UFC 299, snapping a three-fight skid. After winning the interim title against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267, Yan ended up on the wrong side of a pair of split decisions against then-champion Aljamain Sterling and now-current champ Sean O’Malley, followed by a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili.

Now, back in the win column, Yan wants to avenge those losses.

“Rematch season, open. Let’s go!” Yan exclaimed in English during his in-cage post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

While Sterling is out of the picture as he’s moving up to featherweight for his next fight, rematches against Dvalishvili and O’Malley are possible, it just comes down to how the promotion wants to proceed with matching up the top fighters at 135 pounds.

“Whoever UFC will give me, I want to beat these guys, and prepare this time more professionally than I did before,” Yan said through an interpreter during a post-fight news conference. “… Hunting season, open.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.

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