Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Urijah Faber and Petr Yan faced each other in a Bantamweight clash tonight (Sat., Dec. 14, 2019) at UFC 245, which took place inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. After a competitive start, Yan took over and eventually secured the knockout win in the third and final round.
After a feeling out process, Faber landed first with a body kick, but Yan soon answered with a low kick. Faber landed a nice knee to the mid-section. Yan stalked, jabbed at the body. Yan scored partially with a blocked high kick. Faber dug a teep to the mid-section. Yan put together a nice two-piece combination. Yan landed a body kick, denied a takedown attempt. Faber landed a good left hook on the break of a clinch. Yan landed an uppercut and then an elbow. Yan landed a hard combination on the break of the clinch this time. Faber continued to show the left hook as Yan tried to advance. Yan tried a jump knee near the end of the round.
Faber landed a right hand to start the second. Faber then scored with a left hook. Yan doubled jabbed into a cross. After an exchange, Faber pursued the takedown, securing double underhooks in the clinch. Faber attempted to grab the neck, but Yan escaped back to the center. Faber shot again but ate an elbow again. Yan limp-legged out of a single leg takedown, then sent a hard 1-2-1 down the center that dropped Faber bad. Faber made it back to his feet, but he was cut. Suddenly, Faber stunned Yan with a power punch! Faber moved the fight back into the clinch, but Yan broke away with a brutal elbow that sent Faber to the mat. Once again, Faber popped back up, but this time, Yan landed a trip that put his foe down once more. Faber used a leg lock attempt to stand back up, and the two began trading wildly. Yan ducked a right hand and landed another takedown near the end of the round.
Yan opened the third round with a left hook and body kick. A high kick glanced off Faber’s guard. Once more, the fight found itself into the clinch, where Yan attempted a foot sweep. landed a couple short shots, and scored with a heavy high kick as Faber pulled backward. Faber went down hard, and the referee immediately intervened.
Yan has been nothing but massively impressive throughout his entire UFC career, and that continued last night. Faber had some strong moments, but ultimately the clinch work of Yan proved the deciding factor.
Result: Petr Yan defeats Urijah Faber via knockout at 0:43 of round three
For complete UFC 245: “Usman vs. Covington” results and play-by-play, click HERE!