Petr
Yan believes he needs a new team to bounce back from his recent
slump.
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The former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title holder
was undefeated in the promotion leading up to a disqualification
title loss to Aljamain
Sterling in 2021. While Yan bounced back from that loss with a
decision win over Cory
Sandhagen, the former champ never managed to fully regain his
momentum.
“No Mercy” subsequently went on a three-fight skid, including a
unanimous decision loss against Merab
Dvalishvili in his most last outing at UFC Fight Night 221.More
recently, an undisclosed injury forced Yan out of a
rumored headlining bout opposite Yadong Song
on Dec. 9.
Yan claims that he is healthy and that he has a date in mind for
his UFC return.
“The health is great,” he told XTRA MMA.
“There’s no preparation at this moment. Yes, I am ready. I’m
waiting for the information [from the UFC]. I plan on fighting in
March at UFC 299 … I’d like it to be someone from the Top 10. It
depends on the promotion, who they will choose. If they decide they
want to make a particular fight, they’ll do all they can to make it
happen.”
Yan is also looking to bring about significant changes in his team,
or potentially, set up a new one in order to make himself relevant
in the bantamweight title picture.
“I know I should,” he said. “I should try to modernize my training
camp in some way, my coaching team. Change something, implement
something new, correct some things. I’ll try to make that happen so
you can see some changes in the future. It’s people, it’s sparring
partners, coaching staff, it’s team that’s the most important
thing. The new coaching team needs to be created, formed rather.
The team I’ll be preparing with, that will be there with me at the
arena, etc.”