Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim Bantamweight champion Petr Yan may not be able to make it to his upcoming bout with the same amount of help that he’s accustomed to.
According to Tass’ Igor Lazorin, the Russian titleholder’s cornermen have been denied their Visa requests from the U.S. government. Yan, however, is fine to come and go as he’s had a U.S. Visa for three years. Lazorin suggested the possibility of Khabib Nurmagomedov assisting his fellow countryman.
Yan is set to rematch undisputed divisional champion, Aljamain Sterling, on Apr. 9 at UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Fla. The bitter rivals first met at UFC 259 in Mar. 2021 when the roles were reversed — excluding any interim gold.
Late into the fourth round, Yan would land an illegal knee to a downed Sterling that the challenger couldn’t recover from. Thus leading to a disqualification and title change for Russia’s first 135-pound UFC champion.
Sterling hasn’t fought since as he underwent neck surgery following the win. Now recovered and ready to go, the rematch takes up the co-main event spot at UFC 273.
Yan, on the other hand, went toe-to-toe at UFC 267 in Nov. 2021 with Cory Sandhagen to claim the interim crown. Dropping the first round on most people’s scorecards, Yan would power up as the action continued and secure a unanimous decision (watch highlights).
“No Mercy” has shown exactly that in his 18-fight career thus far. Having only suffered defeat twice, Yan (16-2) avenged his first loss to Magomed Magomedov in 2017 after their first encounter the year prior. Picking up a win between those two Magomedov bouts, Yan will aim to replicate those exact results when rematching Sterling.