Can Petr Yan become the first UFC bantamweight to win eight straight fights?
Petr Yan won his sixth straight UFC bantamweight contest in December 2019 when he knocked out Urijah Faber via head kick. That victory scored him a shot at the vacant bantamweight crown. His opponent in that July 2020 matchup was former featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo.
Yan put on a fantastic performance that night in Abu Dhabi. He stopped Aldo with ground strikes late in the fifth round. With that he claimed the 135-pound title and extended his bantamweight winning streak to a record-tying seven straight fights.
On Saturday, Yan puts his winning streak and title on the line against Aljamain Sterling, who enters this scrap with five straight wins in the 135-pound division.
Yan and Sterling meet on the pay-per-view portion of UFC 259, which takes place March 6 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view card streams on ESPN+. The title fight is one of three on the card. In the co-main event, women’s featherweight champ Amanda Nunes faces Megan Anderson. In the headliner, UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya looks to become a two-division champion when he faces light heavyweight kingpin Jan Blachowicz.
Below is a look at where the two fighters appear in the UFC record book.