At the UFC 280 tournament, which will be held on October 22 in Abu Dhabi, Russian Peter Yan will try to close the defeat from Aljamain Sterling in a fight with Irishman Sean O’Malley, who is very tall for the bantamweight category. A year ago in the capital of the United Arab Emirates Merciless already managed to cope with a similar task. He declassed a larger opponent and closed the first setback against Sterling.

“Fight Island” adopted Peter as his own.

“I will be uncompromising”

UFC Fight Island hosted the UFC 267 tournament in October 2021. The event could not leave Russian MMA fans indifferent – in every fight of the main card, if we leave out the title fight between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira, there was someone to cheer for. Magomed Ankalaev, Khamzat Chimaev, Alexander Volkov, Islam Makhachev, and, of course, Peter Yan entered the octagon.

Ruthless had to fight for the title of interim champion with the American Corey Sandhagen, who did not mind replacing Aljamain Sterling, who had withdrawn from the fight. It was Yan’s first time in the cage since his controversial loss to Sterling in March 2021 due to a disqualification for kneeing a seated opponent.

The favorite in this pair, of course, was the Russian. However, some difficulties for Peter could arise due to a noticeable difference in anthropometric data. Yan’s height, according to official UFC data, is 171 cm, his opponent is 180 cm. However, this fact was the last thing that confused the fighter himself.

Petr Yan and Corey Sandhagen / Photo: © Chris Unger / Contributor / UFC / Gettyimages.com

– I have not tried to fight with such tall guys. I know one thing – it’s more painful to fall high, ”Yan said in an interview with Match TV before the fight.

Before the next fight, Peter avoided excessive activity on social networks, which he sinned on the eve of the fight with Sterling. Merciless was calm and confident. And why would one be uncertain when one and a half hundred fans arrived with him from Yekaterinburg to the capital of the UAE. The fans turned out to be extremely noisy – almost the entire fight was chanting “Peter Yan” and “Petya”. The ex-champion was ready to reciprocate.

– I, as always, will be uncompromising in the upcoming fight. I think it will be a very spectacular fight, – Peter promised his fans after the face-to-face ceremony.

“Just don’t play like that”

The promised spectacular fight still did not mean that from the very first seconds Jan would rush to the attack and try to finish the opponent at the very beginning. The Russian started cautiously, and his opponent chose a similar tactic. Reconnaissance of the situation with low-kicks, less often punches – that, perhaps, was all that awaited Peter’s noisy fans and imperturbable sheikhs in medical masks in the first minutes.

On whose side the advantage in the first rounds, without access to statistics, it was difficult to understand. Dry numbers suggested that in the first five minutes Sandhagen hit more often, but most of it was legwork. But Yang focused his attacks on the opponent’s head.

Petr Yan and Corey Sandhagen / Photo: © Chris Unger / Contributor / UFC / Gettyimages.com

In the second five-minute period, when Corey began to show more interest in Merciless’s head, the statistical parameters almost leveled off, but the American still had some advantage. However, satisfaction with the course of the fight was observed in the corners of both opponents. The coach advised Yan to follow the attempts to pass and “just don’t walk like that.”

“Native place”

Almost losing his balance at the beginning of the third round, Peter finally took control of the fight. No walks just like that, only tight accented punches – punches, kicks, straight and roundabouts. In rare episodes, Sandhagen exploded, but the fuse for the American did not last long.

Toward the end of the round, Yang knocked down the opponent and rushed to finish off the defeated one. Corey withstood the onslaught, since the Russian for some reason decided to fight. However, no one had any doubts – a turning point in this fight had come.

In the championship rounds, the advantage of the Russian fighter only grew. Peter actively punched deuces, competently changed stances, inflicting more and more damage to his opponent. Sandhagen was close to despair and, having taken out his almost last trump card, he tried to transfer the duel to the ground. The takedown was a success for the American, but he failed to keep the former champion on the canvas.

In the final five-minute period, the American was mainly engaged in the fact that he avoided the battle and waited for the end of his torment. True, these sufferings could have ended ahead of schedule – Merciless almost cut down his opponent with a high-kick. Five rounds against the ex-champion Sandhagen still survived. The referee’s decision came as no surprise to anyone – all three unanimously gave preference to Jan. Peter got the title of interim UFC champion and closed the defeat from Sterling.

“It’s nice to have my family around. This is my second time in Abu Dhabi becoming a champion. This is already like my native place for me, ”Yan said after the victory.

Let’s hope that for the third time Abu Dhabi will be a happy place for a Russian. Petr Yan in his rivalry with a tall opponent is again the favorite. It remains to prove the validity of the preliminary layouts by deeds in the octagon.