After an impressive win over Marcus McGhee in Abu Dhabi, Petr Yan believes he’s ready for another shot at his former bantamweight belt.
Yan is now on a three fight win streak — good enough, he believes to earn him a fight against the winner of champion Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen set for UFC 320 on October 4th in Las Vegas, Nevada. But the press row in Abu Dhabi had other suggestions for him.
Would he, for example, be interested in fighting No. 2 ranked Umar Nurmagomedov in Qatar near the
end of the year?
Thanks Merab, good luck in your next fight. Hopefully it’s me and you for the belt after https://t.co/lyvacuGWFM
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) July 26, 2025
“Right now, I’m not interested in fighting Umar in November in Qatar,” Yan said at the post-fight press conference through a translator (video via MMA Junkie). “I was offered a fight against him in Baku, Azerbaijan. I accepted it, but they couldn’t accept it. Then I asked for July and they also couldn’t make it. Right now, I’m only focused on a title shot.”
Umar Nurmagomedov was a hot fantasy matchmaking subject last night. But while Nurmagomedov vs. Yan would be a great fight, there are reports that the UFC is in the process of matching Umar up against Mario Bautista.
If the UFC is willing to line Yan up for a bantamweight title fight, he could fight Dvalishvili or Sandhagen. Yan has fought both of them before, and beat Sandhagen back in 2021. Despite this, he’d rather try to avenge his loss to current champ Merab Dvalishvili, who beat him in 2023.
“Obviously, I prefer to rematch Merab to see how I’ll do against him when I’m healthy,” he said. “But, Cory’s also a great fighter, interesting fighter. I had a great fight with him. I believe they’re going to have a good fight, but I just believe Merab’s pressure is going to be a key factor. At some point, Cory’s going to fade.”
Leading into UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder, Yan said the UFC had already told him he was next in line for a bantamweight title shot.
“I was told that I can wait and I’ll be next in line for the title,” he said in a video for Gorilla Energy Drink. “But I don’t want to wait, and I don’t want to be an inactive fighter.”
After the win, Dvalishvili complimented Yan on the win.
“Thanks Merab, good luck in your next fight,” Yan tweeted back. “Hopefully it’s me and you for the belt after.”
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