Does Yan ever wear UFC gold again?

[matrixremaster]

He's definately good enough, but with the UFC clearly against him it's going to make it difficult.

 

[dipstickjimmy]

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.

Winning the last round is not overwhelming IMO. Reyes won 1, 2, 3 clear as day and so many Jon defenders said "Well Jon was strong in the last 2 "Championship Rounds". They don't count as more just for being the last round. Nate Diaz didn't get the win against Leon for landing 1 decent shot in the last minute of the fight. He got his ass kicked for 24 minutes of the 25.

MMA isn't road hockey where you call "Next Goal Wins" because the street lights came on and your mom is calling you.

 

[dipstickjimmy]

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>

1st round 19-13 in sig strikes with ZERO control time for either fighter.
3rd is 6-8 in sig strikes in Yan's favour but nearly 4 full minutes of Sterling on his back going for submissions.
Note remotely the same and out landing by 2 strikes =/= 2.5 times the amount.

Cory outlanded Yan in total sig strikes 169 - 149
1st round Cory 37-19
2nd round Cory 45-38
3rd round Cory 37-36
4th round Yan 36-25
5th round Cory 25-20

Not sure how you can't see that as a competitive fight. If you want to see overwhelming go watch GSP vs Jon Fitch. 50-43, 50-44 & 50-44. That's back when you had to beat a guy like a red headed step child for 5 full min to get a 10-8. Under todays scoring there would have been at least 1 if not 2 10-7's

 

[ejazahmednit]

He has the skills and he has my best wishes
I feel he has a chance if he strings a few wins

 

[Kung Fu Kowboy]

Doubt it... UFC is using him as a contender gatekeeper now.

 

[ChimRichalds]

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

Oh for sure. I'd like to see him string some wins together, he's just one of those guys I see hanging around at the top, but losing the biggest fights. Unless he can change his style up a bit and not take near half the fight getting his reads, he's there to be potentially out hustled. I have a bad feeling Merabs gonna do his Merab shit and wrestle him to a close decision.

 

[Black0ut]

Wild to think, not THAT long ago many thought he would be a long time reigning champ, now it looks like most don’t ever see him with the strap again.

gotta love MMA.

I agree BTW.

 

[BangBang]

He's as good as anyone. he could do it for sure.

 

[Ozze]

Of course not. He lost 3 of his last 4 fights.

That means that he's overrated, only won against bums, his victories aged like milk, all his opponents were either green or washed up, he's a weight bully, has Dana White privilege, is a cheater and was never my friend.

 

[kibz]

Hector Lombard 2.0

 

[Tweak896]

Yan can get the belt with the right circumstances. I'm at 50/50. With the wrong matchups he's probably never getting it again he seems to have a bad stretch of luck.

 

[OliveWar]

I tend to think he'll touch gold again. The thing with his 3 losses is they are a DQ and two split decisions which is quite unlucky. If he wins this weekend it could be the boost he needs IMO to take him back and perhaps having prepared for Aljo, Sean and Merab in recent times he's been picking up even more skills than he already has (most skilled in the division already tbh).
I'm convinced he puts it all together and has a good run eventually, he's surely too skilled not to. I hope

 

[Bradillac]

He's definately good enough, but with the UFC clearly against him it's going to make it difficult.

How is the UFC against him? They gave him a quick rematch against Sterling to let him regain his belt, and then they gave him O'Malley, who everyone expected him to steamroll... Yan squandering the opportunities that the UFC gives him doesn't mean that he UFC is against him lol.

 

[Bradillac]

1st round 19-13 in sig strikes with ZERO control time for either fighter.
3rd is 6-8 in sig strikes in Yan's favour but nearly 4 full minutes of Sterling on his back going for submissions.
Note remotely the same and out landing by 2 strikes =/= 2.5 times the amount.

Cory outlanded Yan in total sig strikes 169 - 149
1st round Cory 37-19
2nd round Cory 45-38
3rd round Cory 37-36
4th round Yan 36-25
5th round Cory 25-20

Not sure how you can't see that as a competitive fight. If you want to see overwhelming go watch GSP vs Jon Fitch. 50-43, 50-44 & 50-44. That's back when you had to beat a guy like a red headed step child for 5 full min to get a 10-8. Under todays scoring there would have been at least 1 if not 2 10-7's

Those numbers are useless and completely misrepresent how the fight went. Going by those numbers, you'd expect Cory to have won, or at least lose a close split decision. But that's not what happened at all, every judge had it 4-1 Yan along with the majority of the media. Cory's shots had no power on them and Yan would just walk through them and land much harder shots. After the 2nd round it was clear who was in complete control of the fight. Cory spamming incredibly weak strikes trying and failing to keep Yan off of him doesn't make it a close fight.

 

[CashMoney1991]

hard to say, the rematch with Aljo could of gone either way, he was clearly beating him in the first fight until that DQ and I had him winning against Sean, also had a very close fight with Cory, but I member giving it to Yan, 135 is probably the most competitive division, if he does get the belt back, he would have to wait since we have Sterling vs CCC next, Sean has been winning, Chito is right in that mix too, Umar will probably be champ within the next 2-3 years

 

[StocktonMuhfuh]

Yes, but it may be interim.

 

[StonedLemur]

Oh for sure. I'd like to see him string some wins together, he's just one of those guys I see hanging around at the top, but losing the biggest fights. Unless he can change his style up a bit and not take near half the fight getting his reads, he's there to be potentially out hustled. I have a bad feeling Merabs gonna do his Merab shit and wrestle him to a close decision.

Yeah he has a lot to prove, especially here with Merab.
I think it's bullshit that Merab won't fight Aljo and they keep letting him block for Aljo.

Merab could pull a Merab and press him against the fence, but they were breaking that shit up last weekend so I guess we'll see.
Yan really does need to up his activity but I guess that will be determined tomorrow night sir.

 

[weaponzero2k2]

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 keep having this argument on this forum when it comes to Yan.....he is very good fighter but not great fighter....is he fun to watch ...kinda ....when actually decides to fight and not give away 1 1/2 rounds per fight.....it is not a fluke he lost 3 or his last four fights (the O'Malley loss was really a bad one)...he is very beatable....now do I think he will win on Saturday...Yes...but I can also see him losing a close Dec. because he gives away rounds..

 

[Dobymick]

I don't think so. That illegal knee broke him. He probably have nightmares about it

 

[Elvis.]

It’s a difficult question, but I think he fights his way to another title shot at the very least