Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee squared off in a Bantamweight contest earlier tonight (Sat. July 26, 2025) live on ABC inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. After 15 competitive minutes, Yan was named the victor.
Yan pressured towards his opponent right away, putting McGhee on his back foot. McGhee kicked well from the outside and tried to fire shifting combinations. Yan opened up about 90 seconds into the fight and starting making connections with his hands. Yan’s early success convinced
McGhee to start leading more often, but he struggled to break through the “No Mercy” defense. He found a nice left hand about midway through the round though then landed on the counter too. McGhee started to find good success with his low kick as well, evening up the round in a significant way. Yan, despite his lower volume, was connecting on the more significant punches though.
However, a final McGhee connection wobbled the knees just before the bell, perhaps stealing the round?
Yan slipped a shot and blasted McGhee with a counter right to open the second. McGhee’s first takedown attempt of the fight went nowhere, then Yan stuck him with a 1-1-2. McGhee answered with a lovely two-punch combination that landed cleanly. Hard right hand down the middle stunned McGhee, though he fired right back. Yan started cracking McGhee on the break of clinches, opening a cut. McGhee hung tough and hit the body, but the tide was turning against him badly. Yan’s tight defense helped him land the cleaner shots throughout a lot of back-and-forth exchanges. His jab started to land more and more often too.
It was competitive, but there’s no doubt round two belonged to the former champion.
McGhee found some hard low kicks to start the final frame, but Yan nailed him with another cross on the break of an exchange. McGhee was having trouble exiting exchanges without getting cracked, generally. Yan ripped a lovely combination with McGhee’s back to the fence, finishing with a hard hook to the liver. Yan changed levels and shot for the first time, sneaking behind “The Maniac.” The action slowed, but Yan continued to work with knees and trip attempts. Minutes ticked away, leaving McGhee in a hole when he finally escaped with just one minute remaining. Instead, Yan landed his signature trip to gain top position, riding out the fight in a good spot.
This was a reasonably entertaining fight and respectable performance from McGhee. Unfortunately, Yan was just the sharper man in most facets of the game. McGhee offered interesting looks in the stand up, but Yan’s defense generally took most of the sting away. In return, Yan was able to land the cleaner punches and then takeover the third round with his grappling.
Is it the kind of performance that secures a title shot? That’s uncertain, but Yan is now riding a three-fight win streak and remains one of Bantamweight’s best.
Result: Yan defeats McGhee via unanimous decision
For complete UFC Abu Dhabi results and play-by-play, click here.
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