Does Yan ever wear UFC gold again?

[drbolony]

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.

Me niether (on Yanez) not as a complete mixed martial artist or dominant force, but the way Yan has been loading up lately, I can see Yanez picking him apart at distance. Yan can always go to his TD game, but I don't suspect that Yanez is as easy to TD as O'Malley, I could be wrong, but I guess we'll see. It's very much a styles makes fights situation, for example, I don't think Yanez wants any part of Ricky Simon, and I'm a huge fan of Adrian, just keeping it real.

Umar didn't fight Saidyokub, that was Said. Umar just blasted through Barcelos which I thought was really impressive because I think Barcelos is a pretty complete fighter. To be completely honest, idk much about Umar's grappling, I just assume it's good because of his namesake. He's really big though, and he fights long, which I think would give Yan problems.

Like I said, I wouldn't be surprised either, he's a very skilled fighter, one of the most complete on the entire roster. He doesn't get his flowers for being 1-3 (really 2-2) in his last 4, but Yan should be a p4p fighter, no matter how cool the fan base think they are for that list. I like it because it tends to highlight the most skilled fighters on the roster (outside of the odd 1 dimensional champion of course).

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Alot will be clear after this weekend a loss to merab and he's extremely unlikely. A big win puts him right in line for a title fight but he also needs a new champion he might be able to get the trilogy if sterling wins a couple more.

 

[HuskySamoan]

Me niether (on Yanez) not as a complete mixed martial artist, bit the way Yan has been loading up lately, I can see Yanez picking him apart at distance. Yan can always go to his TD game, but I don't suspect that Yanez is as easy to TD as O'Malley, I could be wrong, but I guess we'll see. It's very much a styles makes fights situation, for example, I don't think Yanez wants any part of Ricky Simon, and I'm a huge fan of Adrian, just keeping it real.

Umar didn't fight Saidyokub, that was Said. Umar just blasted through Barcelos which I thought was really impressive because I think Barcelos is a pretty complete fighter. To be completely honest, idk much about Umar's grappling, I just assume it's good because of his namesake. He's really big though, and he fights long, which I think would give Yan problems.

Like I said, I wouldn't be surprised either, he's a very skilled fighter, one of the most complete on the entire roster. He doesn't get his flowers for being 1-3 (really 2-2) in his last 4, but Yan should be a p4p fighter, no matter how cool the fan base think they are for that list. I like it because it tends to highlight the most skilled fighters on the roster (outside of the odd 1 dimensional champion of course).

No, Umar and Said fought Saidyokub, Umar fought him in the PFL.



You're underrating Yans complexity as a fighter though. He was able to score many clean takedowns on guys like Magomed and Sterling, he has a high level of wrestling it's just not his A game. And if a guy like Yanez or Martinez or Umar can give him.trouble with their speed and length on the outside, Petr has shown a real ability to close distance make fighters dirtier at times. He can fight long and technical or he can make it a phone booth type fight, his fight IQ definitely isn't great though...he doesn't always make the best use out of all of his skills but they are there.

 

[drbolony]

No, Umar and Said fought Saidyokub, Umar fought him in the PFL.

My bad, I even pulled up his record to make sure my fault for looking for a blue name on Wiki. Crazy that a skilled fighter like Saidyokub doesn't have his own page. I'll check it out.

 

[HuskySamoan]

My bad, I even pulled up his record to make sure my fault for looking for a blue name on Wiki. Crazy that a skilled fighter like Saidyokub doesn't have his own page. I'll check it out.

Umars grappling is very good, he's a Sambo world champ, strong takedowns, heavy top control and absolutely huge for a BW.

 

[drbolony]

Umars grappling is very good, he's a Sambo world champ, strong takedowns, heavy top control and absolutely huge for a BW.

Sounds like a pretty bad match up for Yan, that said, he didn't look really comfortable at boxing range, but this was 5 years ago. Even then I liked his angles. After seeing that, I'm way more stoked about s potential match up with Yan, they're both supremely skilled.

 

[StonedLemur]

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

I think if he beats Merab this weekend he might have a shot sir.

 

[HuskySamoan]

Sounds like a pretty bad match up for Yan, that said, he didn't look really comfortable at boxing range, but this was 5 years ago. Even then I liked his angles. After seeing that, I'm way more stoked about s potential match up with Yan, they're both supremely skilled.

They all hate boxing range. I'm not confident Umar beats Said either, Said is faster, longer, has the defensive wrestling and cardio. Umar isn't a hitter, I think the Raoni knockout is more of an outlier and age catching up to him, Raoni just ate 300 punches from Victory Henry at 36 before fighting Umar.

Yeah 22 but Umar was a Sambo world champ and Saidyokub was a standout Sambo practitioner, wrestler and U20 US Judo national champion. They were very experienced 22 year olds so they aren't going to improve drastically from 22 to 26 like others, generally speaking.

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

It's possible, nobody at 135 really stands out above the rest. I feel like a bunch of guys could become champ. Aljamain, Cejudo, Yan, O'malley (if he improves his wrestling a bit), Yadong, Sandhagen etc..

 

[dipstickjimmy]

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.

I just rewatched the first and Yan literally did not land a single Impactful strike until the last 5 seconds of the round. Almost everything he threw missed. Go watch it again. Aljo landed 4-5 solid body kicks and a nice step in elbow. Yan landed one solid punch with 3 seconds in the round nothing else.

 

[dipstickjimmy]

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.

Yan has had 4 five rounders and he overwhelmed Jose Aldo but lost twice to Sterling and Sandhagen was a very competitive fight. Don't see any reason to believe he overwhelms almost just about any BW.

 

[LoveMyMMA]

He's gonna end up becoming the Poirier of the BW division.

Will sniff gold for a very long time but won't ever get the belt again IMO.

He'll have some very impressive wins against top guys and will earn a title shot or two but will falter.

Too many young studs in the division - I think Umar will clear out the division tbh.

 

[Hypetrainofthemonth]

I'm 50/50 on it, I can see him both attaining it again, or just coming up short, as I do think he can beat Sterling(again ) & many think he beat "Suga" Sean.

A couple split decisions go his way, instead of against, & he either never loses his belt &/or Is already lined up for another TS.

I think this next fight will show us how hungry he may or may not be, he may feel disrespected & feel he needs to prove doubters/haters wrong, OR may feel disrespected & be discouraged with a dwindling burning fire to re-attain the belt, we shall see in his next bout.

 

[HuskySamoan]

He's gonna end up becoming the Poirier of the BW division.

Will sniff gold for a very long time but won't ever get the belt again IMO.

He'll have some very impressive wins against top guys and will earn a title shot or two but will falter.

Too many young studs in the division - I think Umar will clear out the division tbh.

Wild take here but

1. Umar will struggle on his way up, there's guys with clear skillsets to give him trouble like Javid, Simon, Martinez, Said, Yan etc.

2. Islam looked entirely beatable vs Volk and short of him rocking Beneil early (which is very possible but I'd say not probably, Beneil is chinny and has lapses in defense). Beneil will make Islam just as human as Volk did.

3. Usman Nurmagomedov will struggle to get through the Bellator tournament without losing, he was given an undeserved path to the title and skipped over the deserving contenders because of his last name to fight the worst Bellator LW Champ possible...But vs Mansour in the Semis and Shabliy/Tofiq/McKee in the finals he will struggle in all of these.

I think it's possible by 2024 the Dagestani mysticism will fade a bit. I still think they're amazing fighters and will win championships for the foreseeable future but guys are catching up.

 

[Rorsahack]

highly unlikely, 0-3 isn't exactly greatness and going the distance while getting pieced up by #12 O'Malley wasn't a good look at all.

 

[Bradillac]

It's crazy how fast Yan went from the scariest guy in the division to just another guy. That DQ really fucked his career.

 

[Bradillac]

Yan has had 4 five rounders and he overwhelmed Jose Aldo but lost twice to Sterling and Sandhagen was a very competitive fight. Don't see any reason to believe he overwhelms almost just about any BW.

He overwhelmed all of those guys in the final rounds of their fights though... The only guy who he wasn't able to overwhelm was O'Malley, and that tells you how good O'Malley is.

 

[DestinedAussie]

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.

The ironic thing is he might be best in the division but his fighting style doesn't score well with the judges. His now pretty out in the cold if triple C comes back. If he loses again his likely years from another title fight unless injury gives him a shot (but I don't think his that likely to accept short notice even for the belt).

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

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

So Sterling slightly out voluming Yan in the first round matters but not in the third round when Yan landed 2.5x more strikes?

Thats some real convenient mental gymnastics <45>

Yan has had 4 five rounders and he overwhelmed Jose Aldo but lost twice to Sterling and Sandhagen was a very competitive fight. Don't see any reason to believe he overwhelms almost just about any BW.

Sandhagen lost the last four rounds on every single judges scorecard.

How is that a "very competitive" fight?

 

[AfroBanana]

No he’s skilled, but not all around skilled enough. Never felt like he would be a long reigning champion to begin with.

He’s also a mental midget and doesn’t seem very smart so I lack faith in him there. I think if he was more aware and accepting of situations and showed that he’s there mentally he might have a better shot.

Basically anytime he’s done something to be disqualified or lose a fight he has a hissy fit and whines. He seems to like playing victim and acting entitled in these situations.

This next fight is huge and he has to win this one. If he’s throwing another tantrum because he got manhandled 100% won’t be champion again. I enjoy watching him fight but my only peeve with fighters is when they’re whiny and in denial (he’s becoming one of the best at it).