Does Yan ever wear UFC gold again?

[HuskySamoan]

The question is a simple one, if a moderator could add a poll that'd be appreciated not sure if I can, certainly don't know how.

With Yan facing top 5 Merab this weekend and his position in the title picture somewhat unclear even with a win, I know I and many others never really felt like Yan was bested by Aljo in losing his title and I do still think he may very well be the most skilled fighter at 135lbs. Does he ever regain the title that he lost in the UFC though? You tell me.

 

[Crazy Librarian]

@Kowboy the Konqueror @Bullitt68

I think Yan's supremacy might be over. Umar is on the rise too. Might be tough for him to get the belt back.

 

[Substance Abuse]

The question is a simple one, if a moderator could add a poll that'd be appreciated not sure if I can, certainly don't know how.

With Yan facing top 5 Merab this weekend and his position in the title picture somewhat unclear even with a win, I know I and many others never really felt like Yan was bested by Aljo in losing his title and I do still think he may very well be the most skilled fighter at 135lbs. Does he ever regain the title that he lost in the UFC though? You tell me.

I got you.

 

[ChimRichalds]

No, I don't think so. I think he sticks around near the top for awhile yet, but never gets the belt back.

 

[Neck&Neck]

I was a big fan, but he’s always fighting stupid

 

[Eternalwarriorking]

He certainly has the skills, but the timing might be poor. BW might be the most stacked division-and crucially- runs a bit smoother than LW as well imo. We also need to consider if Peter is psychologically game for the climb back after these recent twists in his career. And finally, we'll have to consider his health/cut for BW. If he can't get the belt back in a year or so, I think his chances radically decrease.

 

[phajebkeedooh]

Merab will gas in the third just like sterling but this time Yan is going to brutalize that boy rather than go for points

 

[drbolony]

The question is a simple one, if a moderator could add a poll that'd be appreciated not sure if I can, certainly don't know how.

With Yan facing top 5 Merab this weekend and his position in the title picture somewhat unclear even with a win, I know I and many others never really felt like Yan was bested by Aljo in losing his title and I do still think he may very well be the most skilled fighter at 135lbs. Does he ever regain the title that he lost in the UFC though? You tell me.

He could, but it seems unlikely, barring some unseen circumstances (title fight falling apart, a PED bust, etc). BW is too deep and the company seems to have O'Malley and Cejudo pegged as the two next title challengers (regardless of order). Which leaves Yan to fight up and coming monsters like Umar and Yanez.

I like Yan against one dimensional fighters like Merab, but I favor the larger Nurmagomedov and Yanez over Yan, especially after seeing what a hard time he had dealing with O'Malley's length. Sandhagen should've been a tougher match up for Yan, but he was ok with fighting in the pocket and paid for it. Yan has also been loading up on his strikes more, to the point of losing balance. If he fights to his potential, he's always one of the most well rounded fighters on the roster. Unfortunately, that's not always what we get in MMA. Yan is definitely a mainstay in the top 5 though. If you beat him (legitimately), you're ready for a title shot.

 

[HuskySamoan]

He certainly has the skills, but the timing might be poor. BW might be the most stacked division-and crucially- runs a bit smoother than LW as well imo. We also need to consider if Peter is psychologically game for the climb back after these recent twists in his career. And finally, we'll have to consider his health/cut for BW. If he can't get the belt back in a year or so, I think his chances radically decrease.

I'd say within 2 years is more reasonable, by the time he's pushing 33 if he hasn't reclaimed the title I think it's never going to happen. He will need to amass 3 or 4 good wins before he gets another shot and it's going to be versus a shark tank of opponents no doubt...The 135lb division is growing and evolving year by year still. But honestly if anyone can do it, I think Yan has the tools to get it done. I'm 50/50 he gets his title back personally, Merab is quite frankly a big ask but one I do think he manages to get through in a hard battle.

 

[13Seconds]

No. O'malley styles on him in a rematch.

 

[Raptors2019]

Might be the unluckiest fighter yet. But if he somehow becomes the lucky one he could very well become champion again.

 

[mangokush]

He will have to seriously make a statement against Merab to even be in the running for a title shot

 

[HHJ]

Of course he could.

Will he? who knows.

UFC knows the talent they have here,so they wont cut him or hold it too much against him for these weird losses.

 

[HuskySamoan]

He could, but it seems unlikely, barring some unseen circumstances (title fight falling apart, a PED bust, etc). BW is too deep and the company seems to have O'Malley and Cejudo pegged as the two next title challengers (regardless of order). Which leaves Yan to fight up and coming monsters like Umar and Yanez.

I like Yan against one dimensional fighters like Merab, but I favor the larger Nurmagomedov and Yanez over Yan, especially after seeing what a hard time he had dealing with O'Malley's length. Sandhagen should've been a tougher match up for Yan, but he was ok with fighting in the pocket and paid for it. Yan has also been loading up on his strikes more, to the point of losing balance. If he fights to his potential, he's always one of the most well rounded fighters on the roster. Unfortunately, that's not always what we get in MMA. Yan is definitely a mainstay in the top 5 though. If you beat him (legitimately), you're ready for a title shot.

I am not sold on Yanez yet, the Yanez we saw fight Davey Grant loses to Yan 10/10 and 12-6 Grant is Yanez's biggest win to date, a split decision. Rob Font is pushing 36 and well out of his prime but it's probably Yanez's biggest test to date so if he struggles there it's safe to say he isn't beating Yan...probably ever. Umar is pretty untested yet but the takedown defense and aggressive striking of Saidyokub gave him a very competitive fight and Saidyokub is the best fighter Umar has been in there against to date, I don't disagree that the footwork of guys like O'malley and Sterling paired with their length gave Yan's stalking approach trouble though and Umar's quite the nimble kicker but I haven't seen enough to think Umar beats Yan quite yet, Yan is pretty well designed to beat Dagestani fighters, if he can pressure himself inside effectively he's going to chew Umar up and at range if he cuts him off with kicks to the body and legs it could be effective too...Also Yan's takedown defense should be more than enough and if it's a 5 round fight he can really weaponize that cardio.

I don't know, I could see Yan falling short just as easy as I could see him stringing 3 or 4 meaningful wins together to get a final tital shot and regaining the belt. It's a super interesting question to me.

 

[dipstickjimmy]

never really felt like Yan was bested by Aljo

So you missed the fight where Yan lost his Interim Title then? Sterling outstruck him by a wide margin in the 1st & 2nd rounds, Round 3 was 8-6 in favour of Yan but Sterling controlling him for almost 80% of the round far outweighs 2 strikes. Couldn't be any clearer that Aljo won 3 rounds to 2.

Maybe if Yan can make 125 lbs he could get a belt

 

[Adamant__]

I think Yan's supremacy might be over. Umar is on the rise too. Might be tough for him to get the belt back.

Ye, especially if he loses this one. Love Yan, he's one of my favorites but unfortunately he made some mistakes and he had some bad luck. Thankfully, love Umar as well and he's my second favorite in the division. So, BW will still be interesting to me even if Yan loses

 

[HuskySamoan]

So you missed the fight where Yan lost his Interim Title then? Sterling outstruck him by a wide margin in the 1st & 2nd rounds, Round 3 was 8-6 in favour of Yan but Sterling controlling him for almost 80% of the round far outweighs 2 strikes. Couldn't be any clearer that Aljo won 3 rounds to 2.

Round 1 was 19 to 13 strikes in favor of Aljo but Yan landed the cleaner and more meaningful strikes. That was the swing round and I personally scored it for Yan but Aljo did a good job exploiting Petrs slow starts and plodding movement in both fights, no doubt. I actually had the rematch a draw, 1, 4 and 5 for Yan and then I believe I had the 2nd round where Aljo got off the aggressive GnP and had the back for the better part of 4 minutes a 10/8.

 

[Psychojoe86]

High probability he gets the belt back. Division is highly competitive and I think we’ll have numerous new champs soon.

if Yan can get 5 round fights mostly, I believe he’ll overwhelm just about any bantamweights.

 

[Crazy Librarian]

Ye, especially if he loses this one. Love Yan, he's one of my favorites but unfortunately he made some mistakes and he had some bad luck. Thankfully, love Umar as well and he's my second favorite in the division. So, BW will still be interesting to me even if Yan loses

That double loss to Aljo was truly tragic brada. Goddang Yan has really bad luck.

Hopefully he beats Merab, I really can't stand that guy.

 

[DOMMA]

Yan has a very good chance of going 0 - 3 in last three fights. He clearly has low fight IQ. Got outwrestled by Sterling for rounds 1,2,3 and never fought with a sense of urgency in rounds 4 and 5. His fight with O'Malley was close yet all three judges gave O'Malley round 3, the final round. He has to be more aware of his position in these close fights. He is 2 losses away from Bellator; he needs a win badly.