Unlike his July return, the second stop on the Urijah Faber comeback tour wasn’t a success.
In Saturday night’s UFC 245 main-card opener, Faber (35-11 MMA, 11-7 UFC) was head kicked and finished by top bantamweight contender Petr Yan at 0:43 of Round 3.
From the opening bell, Yan (14-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) landed early and often. His boxing and knees were his most successful weapons. In the second round, Yan dropped Faber with a beautiful combination which cracked open the head of “The California Kid.”
The former WEC featherweight champion somehow survived, but his face was worse for the wear. Sporting a large mouse under his left eye, Faber was examined by the cage-side physician upon a timeout by referee Keith Peterson.
Faber lived to see another round, but the third wouldn’t be as kind. In the opening minute of the third, Yan cracked Faber with a vicious left high kick. The shot sent Faber toppling to the mat. No follow-up shots were needed, as referee Peterson waved off the bout.
On the microphone after the fight, Yan called for a title shot at “Triple Clown” Henry Cejudo, who holds the bantamweight and flyweight belts. Yan’s nickname poked fun at Cejudo’s “Triple Champ” moniker.
With the victory, Yan has now won nine straight and remains undefeated under the UFC’s banner. Faber is the third straight UFC-ranked opponent Yan has beaten, joining John Dodson and Jimmie Rivera.
As for Faber, the loss snaps a two-fight win streak and is his first defeat since he returned from retirement in July.
The bantamweight bout opened up the UFC 245 main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 245 results include:
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Petr Yan def. Urijah Faber via knockout (high kick) – Round 3, 0:43
- Geoff Neal vs. Mike Perry via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:30
- Irene Aldana def. Ketlen Vieira via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:51
- Omari Akhmedov def. Ian Heinisch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Matt Brown def. Ben Saunders via knockout (strikes) – Round 2, 4:55
- Chase Hooper def. Daniel Teymur via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:34
- Brandon Moreno def. Kai Kara-France via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Jessica Eye def. Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Punahele Soriano def. Oskar Piechota via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:17
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