On October 22, in Abu Dhabi, former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan will face American Sean O’Malley at UFC 280. Fight Island is a happy place for the Russian. Here he defeated Corey Sandhagen, winning the title of interim champion. Here he arranged a bloody felling, defeating Jose Aldo in the championship fight.

I found motivation and made Russia happy!

“There will be a shootout”

Peter Yan went to the championship fight in the UFC for two years, having won six victories in this organization. In order to stand on the same level with Khabib Nurmagomedov and become the second champion from Russia, the fighter needed to take the final step – to defeat the experienced Brazilian Jose Aldo. He once trained with an opponent and even received a ticket to the UFC tournament as a gift from him. Now they had to come face to face in a ruthless cabin.

“If it’s up to me, we’ll have a shootout. I already said that no one followed my training camp, no one knows what I did in this camp. It was my best preparation for the fight. Speed, strength, experience – I will use all this for the sake of victory. If our fight does not become the fight of the evening, then it will be a knockout of the evening,” Aldo quoted BJ Penn.

Peter, paying tribute to his opponent, also promised a bright fight. The Russian believed that not the youngest Brazilian was able to withstand all five rounds of the championship fight, but still did not doubt his own victory.

“I have no doubt that our styles will provide a great fight,” Ian quoted BJ Penn.

Banged on the belly

The contenders for the vacant title started the fight cautiously, but after a little reconnaissance they became more active. Yang introduced the Brazilian to his fists with a couple of hard punches. Aldo took out a trump card in the form of low kicks, once even knocking the Russian down.

The Brazilian decided to fight first, but his attempt to carry out a takedown turned out to be very clumsy, as a result, he himself ended up on the canvas in an absurd way. Peter accepted the gift and heartily beat the competitor. Mostly “on the belly”, as they called in the corner of the Russian fighter.

In the second round, Peter failed to develop success. Aldo chose the ideal distance for himself, from where he worked with his feet. Yang also tried to hit, but a significant part of his attacks simply did not reach the target. The segment as a whole remained with the Brazilian.

Photo: © Jeff Bottari / Contributor / UFC / Gettyimages.com

The Russian needed to change something in order to return the fight under his control, but the desire did not immediately coincide with the possibilities. The South American still worked at a comfortable distance, and at some point he went on the attack, pressing Jan to the net. It seemed that for Peter now everything would end, and very sadly, but this time it worked out. Toward the end of the third round, the Brazilian had already missed the hardest blows and himself, not without difficulty, avoided a knockdown.

“Many thanks to my wife”

In the championship rounds, the speed began to fall – it was hard for Jan, his opponent even harder. At times, Peter drove the Brazilian around the octagon like a hare. He caught up, pressed him to the net, dropped him and began to finish off. Aldo’s face was covered in blood, but the experienced fighter endured and waited for his chance.

Not wait. In the final five minutes, a uniform beating began. Yang immediately switched the fight to canvas and began to deliver solid blows. The Russian beat, beat, beat, there was more blood, but the indifferent referee was in no hurry to stop the battle. When it became clear that Aldo was ready, the beating still stopped.

Yang looked great. Aldo was good too, although many said he didn’t deserve a title shot. As for the referee, it’s a disgusting job. The fight should have been stopped much earlier, – UFC President Dana White was indignant after the fight.

There was no need for Peter to be indignant – the Russian was beside himself with happiness, praised his opponent, explained his local failures and told what motivation he had found for himself before the fateful duel.

— Russia, we did it! I knew that Aldo is a very strong opponent, so I did not force things. Jose knocked off my leg, so I had to fight not in my stance. I want to say a huge thank you to my wife. The birth of a child shortly before the fight is a huge motivation. Thank you very much to all my fans, – said Peter after his victory.

For each fight, of course, it is difficult to find a similar motivation, but perhaps returning to Fight Island will allow Peter to recall pleasant memories and get his third victory in Abu Dhabi in his career.