Petr Yan--did his performance change your life tonight?

[Rampage_Jackson]

My life is thoroughly changed. Yan bless. May Merab be forever vanquished far away from main events

 

[DrunkMonkMeth]

First of all Yan has never had only one trick, and the guy is far from a crotch sniffer. What bizzaro world did you come from?

You need to work on your reading comprehension. I said "always nice to see crotch sniffers get beat up." and you thought i was talking about the boxer who won the fight vs a wrestler??? Common son. Do better.

 

[HHJ]

You need to work on your reading comprehension. I said "always nice to see crotch sniffers get beat up." and you thought i was talking about the boxer who won the fight vs a wrestler??? Common son. Do better.

Thee's deaded. Best make peace w yor maker.

 

[VAfan]

i think most of us knew how good he was already. he's had a weird career, DQs, blatant robberies and all. very cool to see him with the belt, he deserves it.

 

[rearnakedchoke]

Merab threw that fight

 

[NicholasJBasile]

A masterful performance in the face of an indomitable opponent.

Yan showed up stronger, trickier, and psychologically primed to grind through one of the grindiest champions BW has ever seen.

It often seemed Aljo and Merab were challenges he couldn't quite solve-- in the aftermath, some claimed he was emotionally incapable of overcoming these tough losses. The fatal, psychological flaw of this gifted fighter ensured that the electrifying Petr Yan era was over.

And yet, here we are. This wiry, cerebral 135-pound russian gremlin has given us the definitive MMA performance of 2025. It wasn't only his superb skill and fight IQ that impressed us. It was the culmination of a psychological odyssey through failure and an admission of weakness, bad faith, and cognitive dissonance. He gave us the best version of Yan that we deserved, but his fickle pride robbed us of. A long journey home, passing through one last gatekeeper-- the most inexorable cardio beast BW has ever seen.

I am pumped up about this, sherdog. I'm going to make some pasta and go for a run, and ponder my next move. What about you? Are you as drunk and inspired as I am? Share your most existential thoughts with me.

It really was a phenomenal performance; the perfect performance really. His strategy was so high level and it had to be. Merab looked flummoxed in certain stages of the fight due to the footwork and excellent culmination of striking and wrestling from Yan. It was one of "those" performances for sure.