“He deserves to be world champion”- Petr Yan recognizes Alexander Volkanovski as a true legend of the division
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Petr Yan- Alexander Volkanovski
If UFC interim-bantamweight champion Petr Yan gives someone the due respect of a fighter, he must be a man of exceptional talent and in this case, it’s UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Both Yan and Volkanovski are booked to fight their respective opponents, undisputed bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and featherweight title challenger Chan Sung Jung at UFC 273 this weekend in VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida, the USA.
Yan is fighting Sterling for the second time as the first fight at UFC 259 in March 2021 ended on a rather contentious note when Yan landed an illegal move on Sterling resulting in disqualification and giving the belt to Sterling. Volkanovski on the other hand is fighting Jung after the preceding UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway pulled out of the originally scheduled trilogy between Holloway and Volkanovski due to injury.
Petr Yan and Alexander Volkanovski are also sparring partners at Tiger Muay Thai
In his pre-fight media scrum at UFC 273, Yan talks about various angles in regards to his fight against Aljmain Sterling, how deeply rooted his rivalry with the bantamweight champion is and much more. On the way, Yan responds to him being compared to Volkanovski and their rise to the UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
“I believe he is a deserving champion,” says Yan “He is doing everything great, he is focused and only respect him as a champion.” For those who don’t know, both Yan and Volkanovski often visit Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand in order to sharpen their stand up skills and have even sparred with each other at one point in time.
What do you make of Yan’s praise of Volkanovski? Do you have the same respect for the UFC featherweight champion as Yan or do you want to see more action from Volkanovski in the title defence run in order to gain your respect? Who do you think wins between Yan and his UFC 273 opponent Aljamain Sterling? Also, in the same fight card and in the main event, who do you think wins between Volkanovski and his opponent Chan Sung Jung aka The Korean Zombie?
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Abhai Singh Tanwar
(1386 Articles Published)