“Will root for Petr always,” Khabib Nurmagomedov displays solidarity with his fellow countryman Petr Yan, in light of his tough loss to Sean O’Malley

For any Petr Yan fans out there, 2022 has been a year of no mercy – their favourite fighter has lost two close decisions that could have serious repercussions for his title ambitions.

Going into 2022, Petr Yan looked to be set to become the undisputed bantamweight champion of the world yet again, after having lost his belt to nemesis Aljamain Sterling last year via disqualification after the Russian threw an illegal knee to the head of his downed opponent.

Fast forward to April 2022, and the world stood shocked by Aljamain Sterling’s domineering win over Petr Yan, having kept him on the mat for the vast majority of the fight, and never really looked hurt on the feet either. However, the more shocking decision was granted against him in the Sean O’Malley fight, where the American was given the nod, despite it having seemed like Yan had done just enough in the three-round bloodbath.

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One person who clearly did not agree with the decision was Khabib Nurmagomedov, who watched on from Islam Makhachev’s locker room. Speaking about it two months later, he said,” I messaged him after the fight. I always have and always will root for Petr [Yan]. I want him to get back to winning. His fights are interesting to watch, he’s an explosive, dominant and well-balanced fighter. Petr [Yan] is a significant player in MMA as a whole.”

Related- Has Petr Yan ever trained with Khabib Nurmagomedov?

A brief recap of Petr Yan’s exploits in the UFC

For anyone that has forgotten, Petr Yan, at the tender age of 29, has already laid his hands on the undisputed bantamweight championship of the world. Defeating Jose Aldo via TKO for the vacant belt in 2020, Petr Yan introduced himself to the MMA world with a whizzbang.

Petr Yan entered the UFC in 2017, at the young age of 24. From thereon, he went on a six-fight win streak, defeating the likes of Teruto Ishihara, Douglas Silva de Andrade, John Dodson, and Urijah Faber (whose knockout still sends chills down fans’ spines).

Also Read- “Anything is possible,” Khabib Nurmagomedov discusses the possibility of Zabit Magomedsharipov’s return to the UFC

Despite the consecutive losses in 2022, the advantage that “No Mercy” has is the fact that he’s relatively young, in comparison to much of the division, except Sean O’Malley and ”Chito” Vera. He can learn from his misgivings, pick himself up and challenge for the belt yet again in the coming years.

Also Read- “I feel sad for Robert,” Paulo Costa makes the bizarre announcement that he won’t fight Robert Whittaker, despite the UFC having officialized the bout

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