Does Yan ever wear UFC gold again?

[AmonTobin]

Marlon Vera is another potential roadblock for Yan.

 

[Kompromat]

Absolutely. He still beats Aljo 98/100 especially now that he got him figured out (certainly he learned how to get out of back pack position by now). He beats the rest even easier. Like who is his greatest challenge now? Umar? They will probably never fight anyway since he's on good terms with that crew

 

[FlowchartRog]

Honestly not sure, I'm 50/50 on it.

A few fights into the UFC I considered him one of the best, most skilled fighters in the sport. And kind of still do, but for whatever reason he's underperformed in fights a bit. A combination of giving away early rounds and making stupid decisions.

Still, I consider he's only been beaten once legitimately and that was by backpack. I'd still favour him in rematches against Aljo or O'Malley. O'Malley definitely, seeing as he was flat out robbed in that fight, and Aljo probably. I feel like he underestimated Aljo a bit in the rematch, didn't look anywhere near as good and sharp as the first fight.

 

[Chillez]

It's a possibility for sure 50/50 I hope he gets UFC gold again one of my favorite fighters to watch.

 

[Dorkman]

I think he could. But he's definitely not going to get an easy road back to it. He seemingly has Cejudo, and O'Malley ahead of him who are likely to get put in title fights first. So a win over Merab probably isn't getting him the next shot where Cejudo and O'malley are easier to market. This is a pivotal moment though, because Merab is a tough fight for any name in the division. And a loss here puts him to 3 straight losses which is very hard to come back from. Not impossible, but people are going to forget about you for a good while and you're going to have to start putting a stomping on a lot of guys to make some noise again.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

That’s a hard question. If he beats Merab and one more top 5ish BW. He will have earned another TS, imo.

But I can’t just say yes, or no right now. Who will the champion be about a year from now?

It is quite possible. Does he actually do it.. I don’t know right now. This fight with Merab is do or die for him. If Merab beats him I’d probably say there’s almost no chance after that.

But everything is possible in this sport.

 

[weaponzero2k2]

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..

Man I hate being right lol