PRAGUE – As was established during fight week, surging Russian bantamweight contender Petr Yan is a man of few words. But the striker did more than enough talking with his fists during his win over John Dodson at UFC on ESPN+ 3, and he planned to celebrate.
“Prague will be on fire (Saturday),” Yan said after the win. “A lot of good friends came from Russia to support me, over 50 people, so we’re going to celebrate.”
Despite his satisfaction with his victory over the former flyweight title challenger, Yan (12-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) was still as short and to the point as ever when discussing the fight with Dodson (20-11 MMA, 9-6 UFC) and his path through the bantamweight division.
But, despite his brevity, the heavy-handed bantamweight from Omsk said enough to make his intentions very clear ahead of what could be a big year for the 26-year-old.
Confirming the thought that Dodson was the toughest opponent of his career to date, Yan took the opportunity to place himself in the UFC’s top 10, saying: “I think yes, because the UFC is a top-level organization, and now I’m going to be ranked No. 9 in the world.”
Yan outstruck Dodson over the three-round duration of their bantamweight bout at O2 arena in a contest that saw Dodson issue complaints with referee Neil Hall about perceived fouls that weren’t called. But Yan says the complaints stemmed from the pressure he was piling on the American.
“He did complain, but the referee didn’t see any violations,” Yan said. “I think he wasn’t used to getting hit so hard before.”
Yan certainly came into the bout prepared, as he effectively cut off the cage using the experience gained over dozens of boxing bouts earlier in his career. And he came prepared for his post-fight interview, too, as he made sure he staked his claim for his next matchup.
When asked how far he thought he was from the top of the division, Yan replied: “I can’t say how far I am in the division. Next I want Jimmie Rivera, top six, and then we will see after that.”
While Yan’s performance was impressive, it certainly wasn’t one-way traffic, as Dodson briefly dropped the Russian with a well timed punch mid-way through the second round. Yan recovered almost instantly and bounced straight back up to his feet.
As you’d expect, the Tiger Muay Thai-trained star shrugged off the moment, saying: “No, it didn’t affect me.
“Yes, I took his punch, but I have more than 70-80 fights in boxing, so I have experience. It’s not a problem.”
Yan said he’d like to get back to U.S. soil “to show America what I can do,” but when asked how quickly he’d like to return, the usually stoic Russian allowed a little smile to cross his face as he cheekily questioned the question.
“I fought four times in eight months,” Yan said. “What do you think? Is it frequent or not? Do you think I need to rest, or not?”
No nonsense. No frills. No chill. That’s the man they call “No Mercy.”
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