Petr Yan caught the attention of UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili after his win over Deiveson Figueiredo earlier today (Sat., Nov. 23, 2024) at UFC Macau LIVE on ESPN+ from inside Galaxy Arena in Macau, China, but that doesn’t mean he’ll get the next official title shot.
Saturday’s main event showcase against Figueiredo was an important one for Yan. The former UFC champion was coming off a unanimous decision win over Song Yadong back in March, but he needed more to get his hands on another UFC title shot. After all, Yan had lost three in a row before his beatdown over Yadong.
Fortunately for Yan, he was able to lay down a perfect outing against Figueiredo. Over the course of five rounds, Yan outclassed Figueiredo on the feet and during most of the grappling exchanges. Figueiredo certainly got some licks in, but this was Yan’s day to shine. “No Mercy” did just that with a lopsided decision win and now sets himself up nicely entering the new year.
After his fight, Yan utilized his post-fight speech to send a callout to Dvalishvili, who said Figueiredo was the No. 1 contender at 135 pounds coming into Saturday. Yan applied some simple MMA math and claimed it’s now his time to fight for the title after beating Figueiredo. Check it out below:
Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili 2?! #UFCMacau pic.twitter.com/5LDWIKW3Vu
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 23, 2024
Dvalishvili, who just won the bantamweight title with a beatdown over former champion Sean O’Malley back at UFC 306 this past September, wasted little time jumping on social media and reacting to Yan’s win. While Merab doesn’t have final say on who he will defend his title against first, he challenged Yan to a rematch at UFC 313 this coming March in Las Vegas, Nevada. Remember, the two fought back in 2023, which saw Dvalishvili attempt 49 total takedowns en route to a decision win.
What a great fight! @PetrYanUFC @Daico_Deiveson #UFCMacao
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) November 23, 2024
“What a great fight,” wrote Dvalishvili.
I’m impressed @PetrYanUFC performance tonight #UFCMacao
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) November 23, 2024
“I’m impressed @PetrYanUFC performance tonight,” he quickly added.
LFG @PetrYanUFC – March 8th #UFC313 T Mobile , Las Vegas – ?? @Stake pic.twitter.com/fn5y0Peses
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) November 23, 2024
“LFG @PetrYanUFC – March 8th #UFC313 T Mobile, Las Vegas,” he concluded.
What do you think fight fans? Is Merab vs. Yan 2 the fight to make next or is there another matchup that makes more sense?
Let us know!
For complete UFC Macau results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.