The UFC 299 tournament became decisive for the career of Russian Petr Yan. Many have already written off the former champion, but our fighter proved to skeptics that he is capable of winning on character even in the most difficult conditions.

“I’ll crush this guy”

Yan had to return after three defeats in a row and a year of inactivity. During the long pause, the Russian athlete managed to completely solve the health problems that led to his last defeat with Merab Dvalishvili. After this fight, Peter did not train for more than six months.

“You forget something, reaction, attention to other things, but all this is resumed with stable training,” Match TV quotes the Russian as saying.

Yang’s new opponent was the Chinese fighter Song Yadong (21-7-1). The kung fu guy won five of his last six fights, losing only to Corey Sandhagen due to a doctor stopping the fight. Like our fighter, Song Yadong is capable of making bright fights, for which he has been repeatedly awarded bonuses from the UFC. It was the striking technique that became the subject of heated debate between the fighters at press conferences before the fight.

— Yan is an excellent fighter, a former UFC champion. It’s an honor to fight him. “Anything can happen in a fight, but I’m ready to knock him out,” Song Yadong said at a press conference.

“I’ll show him which of us is the best boxer.” I’m 7-0 in boxing, I’m going to crush this guy. This is a different level,” Yang answered the Chinese fighter.

Both opponents were fully motivated to win. At the battle of views, they even staged a small jostling and heated argument.

Petr Yang, Song Yadong / Photo: © Chris Unger / Contributor / UFC / Gettyimages.ru

“I’m back”

Peter entered the fight with the Russian flag, which he brings with him to every fight. It’s a pity that the promotion’s management doesn’t always allow our fighter to take him to the arena, but this time they didn’t ban him.

In the first round, however, doubts arose that Yan would raise his hands in victory with the tricolor. The fighters started carefully. Both were well aware that they could get hit if they went forward without regard for defense.

At this pace, the Chinese felt more confident. He delivered prepared blows better to Peter’s head. He also had a successful period at the end, showing good preparation in the fight. Excessive accuracy led to the fact that all three judges gave preference to Song Yadong.

In Peter’s corner they were not particularly happy with what was happening. The fighter was encouraged to act more actively, but at the beginning of the second round he was in no hurry to follow the instructions. Song Yadong acted as number one for half the round and made several good hits.

Only towards the middle of the battle did Yang find a convenient distance for attacks. The judges probably had doubts 30 seconds before the siren, but Peter convinced them of his superiority with a spectacular takedown. On the canvas, the Russian managed to inflict significant damage on his opponent. The Chinese team had to work throughout the pause with a deep cut above the eye, from which blood flowed profusely.

In the decisive period, Peter immediately rushed to get the victory, but an unsuccessful takedown attempt could have ended disastrously for him. It’s good that Song Yadong failed to take advantage of this misfire. Then the Russian hit a roundhouse kick right in the head, which caused delight in the stands. The Chinese tried to respond in kind, but missed.

The fight ended again on the floor, where the Russian had undivided control of the initiative. A few seconds before the gong, he even went for a choke hold, but did not have time to finish the fight ahead of schedule. The judges again had no questions for Ian. As a result, they unanimously awarded him victory in this important fight – 29:28.

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— Guys, thank you for your support! I haven’t fought in a year, but I’m very happy to be standing here. This is a very important victory. I’m back. I want a tough fight with a strong opponent. It doesn’t matter who it is. The rematch season is open,” Yang said after the fight.

Peter is definitely returning to the championship race. One or two confident victories over rivals from the top three will again open the way for the Russian to fight for the title.

Live broadcasts of UFC tournaments can be seen on the Match TV and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.