Set to return to the main event scene for the first time since March of last year, former bantamweight champion, Petr Yan has opened as the slightest of betting favorites to defeat former flyweight king, Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Fight Night Macau next month.
Yan, a former undisputed and interim bantamweight champion, snapped his losing skid back in April at UFC 299, turning in a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Song Yadong to bring a halt to a three-fight losing run.
As for Figueiredo, the former undisputed flyweight champion improved to 3-0 since his move to 135lbs last year, most recently landing an impressive decision win of his own over former title chaser, Marlon Vera – becoming the first fighter to drop the Ecuadorian in their Saudi Arabia pairing.
And fans hoping to lay money on the upcoming headliner between Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo – as well as other Australian sports, can find the Russian as a slight -155 betting favorite, with the Brazilian an underdog on a current line of +125.
Petr Yan small betting favorite to beat Deiveson Figueiredo
Prior to his decision win over Chinese striker, Yadong, Dudinka contender, Yan – who landed at number three in the rankings with his victory, had snapped a losing skid against the trio of Merab Dvalishvili, Sean O’Malley, and Alajamain Sterling.
Boasting an impressive 17-5 professional mixed martial arts record, Russian favorite, Petr Yan landed the vacant bantamweight crown back in 2020 in the Middle East, stopping former featherweight kingpin, Jose Aldo with a damaging fifth round knockout win.
And dropping the title soon thereafter in a disqualification loss to the above-mentioned, Sterling, Petr Yan would score an interim title ascension with another decision win over perennial contender, Cory Sandhagen.
Enjoying a fruitful move to the bantamweight limit following two championship successes a division lower at flyweight, Para native, Figueiredo laned at 135lbs with a decision success over Rob Font.
And opening the monumental UFC 300 card earlier this annum, Figueiredo stopped another former champion in the form of Cody Garbrandt, submitting the Ohio native with a rear-naked choke success before toppling Vera earlier this summer.
Hoping a victory over the other will land them firmly in the bantamweight title picture, Petr Yan or Deiveson Figuiredo could likely await the victor of an expected European showdown in the early goings of next year between the above-mentioned, Dvalishvili and the streaking, Merab Dvalishvili.
“Merab is trying to avoid my name, trying to tell me that I don’t deserve [to fight for the title],” Umar Nurmagomedov explained. “Even if the UFC will ask him to fight me or someone else, I think he will choose someone else 100 times. He’s playing games. They know that I will not fight in Ramadan and they’re telling us we’re going to fight in March. March is all Ramadan.”
“It’s looking very bad,” Nurmagomedov explained. “It’s looking like he’s trying to avoid [me], like he is scared. I don’t understand how the champion is trying to avoid, but if they won’t fight me, I don’t want to wait. Summer – June, July, May – I want to fight now. I want to fight after two months, before Ramadan, and I want to be active. And we’ll see what’s going to happen.”