With Sean O’Malley’s defeat at UFC 316, the bantamweight division remains in limbo, as Merab Dvalishvili’s dominance goes unchallenged. After defending his title twice in just six months, ‘The Machine’ might be due for a break—slowing the division’s momentum. Amidst the uncertainty, former champion Petr Yan has dropped a bombshell: he’s set to face #13-ranked Marcus McGhee on July 26 at UFC Abu Dhabi. But why would Yan, once the king of the division, take on a rising contender so far down the ranks? Let’s dive in.
‘No Mercy’ will return to action after eight months of hiatus. The former bantamweight champion last fought against Deiveson Figueiredo in China in November last year. Well, Yan was in talks with Cory Sandhagen for a rematch, so why is he taking a fight against a #13th-ranked fighter?
While talking to the media, the former bantamweight champion asserted that the only reason why he took the fight is because he doesn’t want to stay inactive, “I was told that I can wait and I’ll be next in line for the title, but I don’t want to wait, and I don’t want to be an inactive fighter.
He further added, “I want to fight twice this year, if possible. I’m ready to fight, I expressed my desire, and they found me an opponent. All the fighters in the top 5 or top 10 are busy right now. Some of them already have fights scheduled. Some have other reasons. I just wanted to fight in July, they found me an opponent, and I’m ready.”
Petr Yan‘s string of unlucky setbacks inside the Octagon might be some of the worst the sport has ever seen. The former champion infamously lost his title when he threw an illegal knee on a downed Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259. After navigating a hard-fought win over Cory Sandhagen for the interim bantamweight title, he suffered a three-fight losing streak against Aljamain Sterling again, Sean O’Malley, and then Merab Dvalishvili.
Petr Yan explains why he accepted a fight against #13 ranked Marcus McGhee:
“I was told that I can wait and I’ll be next in line for the title, but I don’t want to wait and I don’t want to be an inactive fighter. I want to fight twice this year, if possible.
I just wanted to… pic.twitter.com/nDFEazPwcZ
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 13, 2025
After suffering three consecutive losses, Yan seems like he’s on the right path again. With impressive wins over Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo, he is now actively seeking more fights to prove his worth inside the Octagon. Interestingly, ‘No Mercy’ had a back-and-forth with Cory Sandhagen for a fight. So why didn’t they end up fighting? Let’s find out.
Cory Sandhagen agrees to fight Petr Yan on one simple condition
After Cory Sandhagen defeated Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines, Petr Yan took to his Instagram and posted a snapshot from their UFC 267 bout for the interim bantamweight title — a fight Yan won. He captioned it, “Cory, you were good yesterday, but don’t forget this fight. I’m the only one who deserves a shot at the title.” Sandhagen shared the post on his timeline and captioned it as, “Short notice in front of your crowd, you know, I’m next old friend.”
Well, despite this, ‘Sandman’ is ready to fight Yan but on one condition, “Yeah, sure, I’m not going to commit to that until after the title fight,” said Sandhagen in his conversation with Ariel Helwani. He further added, “If I was going to entertain Yan for anything, just to throw out a teaser or an idea, if I don’t get the title shot next, maybe me and Yan for the baddest motherf——r bantamweight belt would be cool.”
The last time they clashed, Cory Sandhagen was defeated by Petr Yan via decision. However, it’s important to note that ‘Sandman’ accepted the fight on just three weeks’ notice. Despite the short preparation time, he displayed tremendous fighting spirit and even came close to victory at certain moments. Well, with the bantamweight division going for a shift, the MMA community will witness some juicy fights in the near future, but the question is, will there be anyone who could take the belt from Merab Dvalishvili? Time will tell.
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