Petr Yan bested Deiveson Figueiredo via unanimous decision in a classic bantamweight battle in a UFC Fight Night at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, China, on the morning of Saturday 23 November 2024.
Yan, who had lost three of his last four fights heading into the event, produced a performance reminiscent of his time as bantamweight champion in 2020, out-striking his Brazilian rival through a full 25 minutes to eventually take the fight 50-45 50-45 50-45 on the judges’ score cards.
A VINTAGE PETR YAN PERFORMANCE AT #UFCMACAU 👏 pic.twitter.com/DJNlRoAukJ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 23, 2024
"I felt that I led in the fight but anything can happen in the UFC," Yan said after the fight.
The Russian turned his attention to newly-crowned bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, who had labelled Figueiredo the No 1 contender in the division. Yan called for a rematch with Dvalishvili, who holds a March 2023 decision win over Yan.
The rest of the main card featured a unanimous decision triumph for home favourite Yan Xiaonan over Tabatha Ricci in the women’s strawweight division; Muslim Salikhov made quick work of fellow welterweight Song Kenan with a first-round knockout; Gabriella Fernandes submitted Wang Cong in the women’s flyweight division; Carlos Ulberg outpointed Volkan Oezdemir in the light heavyweight category; and Zhang Mingyang stopped Ozzy Diaz in a light heavyweight opener.
The UFC continues on the morning of Sunday 8 December with UFC 310 in Las Vegas, headlined by a flyweight championship match between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura.
UFC Fight Night: Yan v Figueiredo – Main card results
Main event: Bantamweight: Petr Yan def. Deiveson Figueiredo via unanimous decision (50-45 50-45 50-45), R5, 5:00
Women’s strawweight: Yan Xiaonan def. Tabatha Ricci via unanimous decision (30-37 30-37 30-27), R3, 5:00
Welterweight: Muslim Salikhov def. Song Kenan via KO (spinning wheel kick), R1, 3:45
Women’s flyweight: Gabriella Fernandes def. Wang Cong via technical submission (rear-naked choke), R2, 3:49
Light heavyweight: Carlos Ulberg def. Volkan Oezdemir via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 29-28), R3, 5:00
Light heavyweight: Zhang Mingyang def. Ozzy Diaz via TKO (elbows and punches), R1, 2:25