WATCH: Petr Yan trashes a comedian who made fun of his stature during an award show
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Petr Yan
Petr Yan is one of, if not the best boxing-based fighter in the UFC. That should not come as a surprise, as he also has a Master of Boxing degree.
Petr Yan competes in the bantamweight division, which is set at the 135 pound (61.2 KG) championship weigh marks. This means that a fighter fighting for the bantamweight belt must now weigh in any heavier than 135 pounds.
While some bantamweights, like the champion, are naturally of a much bigger stature (with Aljamain Sterling weighing in at 170 pounds when not cutting), Petr Yan is a much truer to size bantamweight. Self-admittedly, he walks around at 154 pounds.
His size, compared to the much bigger folk of Russia (in general), came under a moment of jest in an awards show. An award show host, albeit heartily, said of Yan, “Bantamweight, how many kilos is it?” to which Yan replied, “61 KG… so I still have to gain weight. 61 KG is on the weigh-ins, really, I walk around at 70 KG.” to which the host retorted, “You’re a giant man.”
Although the mood was light, Petr Yan chose his words to perfection, trashing the host by saying, “Most important isn’t carcass, but the engine.”, which left the host stumped.
Under the post that catches this moment, an MMA fan wrote, “Can you imagine the amount of damage Petr could do to an untrained civilian”. We hope the host realizes this and has been taught a valuable lesson by Petr.
Petr Yan faces Sean O’ Malley at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi
Petr Yan was once hailed as the undisputed, people’s champ of the bantamweight division. He was given this title lovingly by fans when Aljamain Sterlin robbed him of the bantamweight title, “play-acting’’ when he got hit by an illegal knee by Yan.
Since, however, Aljamain Sterling has silenced the critics – defeating Petr Yan in a rematch at UFC 273 by a close split decision call. While it was a split decision, Sterling completely outclassed Yan in the first two rounds on the ground. This never allowed Yan to unleash his crisp striking.
Petr Yan is looking to mount another serious title threat. Only 29 right now, he faces another future title contender in Sean O’Malley. Both of the fighters predominantly rely on their striking, so it should be an interesting match-up to determine who outclasses the other. The significant marker on the tale of the tape is Yan’s reach and height disadvantage compared to O’Malley.
If he should want another go at the title, Yan has to necessarily defeat O’Malley. With Aljamain Sterling taking on TJ Dillashaw on the same card, the future prospects of the bantamweight division will be on full display come October 22nd.
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Udayan Mukherjee
(382 Articles Published)