Petr
Yan reminded his peers he still possesses all the tools that
could someday see him return to power in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division.
“No Mercy” outboxed, outfoxed and outhustled Deiveson
Figueiredo to a five-round unanimous decision in their
UFC Fight Night 248 headliner on Saturday at Galaxy Arena in
Macau, China. Yan (18-5, 10-4 UFC) swept the cards with identical
50-45 scores from the judges, further distancing himself from the
three-fight skid that plagued him from April 9, 2022 to March 11,
2023.
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Figueiredo (24-4-1, 13-4-1 UFC) had no answer for the volume and
variety the former 135-pound titleholder brought to bear. Yan kept
him off-balance with feints and stance switches, creating openings
for his finely tuned offensive weapons. Biting leg kicks, accurate
punching combinations and slashing uppercuts at close range tipped
his spear, but he also found time to mix in a few flying knees, a
spinning backfist and a jumping switch kick. Figueiredo returned
fire in spurts but could not throw the Russian off his mark in a
25-minute shutout.
Meanwhile, Team Alpha Male star Xiaonan Yan
rebounded from her April 13 defeat to reigning champion Weili Zhang
and outstruck an overmatched Tabatha
Ricci to a lopsided unanimous decision in the three-round
women’s strawweight co-main event. All three members of the
cageside judiciary scored it the same: 30-27 for Yan (19-4, 9-3
UFC).
Ricci (11-3, 6-3 UFC) failed to manage distance properly and found
herself woefully outclassed in the standup exchanges. Yan kept the
Brazilian on the end of her punches and kicks, her confidence and
comfort growing by the second. Ricci managed to complete a takedown
in the second round but lacked the wherewithal to keep the
Shenyang, China, native under wraps. Once Yan returned to her feet,
she immediately picked up where she left off and continued to
administer a sustained beating with probing one-twos, intermittent
kicks and jarring counter right hands.
The setback snapped a two-fight winning streak for Ricci.
Further down the main card, Muslim
Salikhov disposed of Black Tiger representative Kenan Song
with a spinning wheel kick in the first round of their welterweight
showcase.
Song (22-9, 6-5 UFC) met his end 3:49 into Round 1, losing for the
third time in four outings.
Salikhov (21-5, 8-4 UFC) tenderized his adversary’s lower lead leg
with repeated kicks and zeroed in on the body with a variety of
attacks. Song buckled the Russian’s knees with a sneaky left hook
but failed to back it up with anything meaningful and allowed the
40-year-old to escape potential danger. Salikhov later found the
range to his liking and leveled “The Assassin” with a perfectly
timed and expertly placed wheel kick. He snuck in one last
standing-to-ground hammerfist before referee Mark Craig could
arrive on the scene.
The ageless Salikhov now has 14 first-round finishes to his
credit.
Elsewhere, MMA Masters standout Gabriella
Fernandes sprang one of the year’s biggest upsets and put the
previously undefeated Cong Wang to
sleep with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their women’s
flyweight feature.
Fernandes (10-3, 2-2 UFC) closed it out 3:49 into Round 2, nailing
down her second win in as many appearances.
Wang (6-1, 1-1 UFC) was comfortably in control up until the
stunning finish. She called upon sharp combinations, brutal body
shots and exquisite head movement, appearing to build a lead on the
scorecards. Late in the second round, Fernandes wobbled the
decorated kickboxer with a head kick, kept her balance and decked
her with a crushing straight left. She trailed Wang to the canvas,
maneuvered behind her and slipped the choke into place. Fernandes
readjusted her grip, flattened out “The Joker” and let her squeeze
do the rest.
It was the second rear-naked choke submission of Fernandes’
13-fight career.
Further down the main card, City Kickboxing export Carlos
Ulberg moved one step closer to contention with a unanimous
decision over Volkan
Oezdemir in their three-round light heavyweight attraction. All
three cageside judges scored it for the once-beaten Ulberg (11-1,
7-1 UFC): 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
Oezdemir (20-8, 8-7 UFC) mostly held his own in the standup
exchanges and enjoyed some success with thudding leg kicks.
However, he often used his face as a shield—the Allstars Training
Center rep bore cuts across the bridge of his nose and near his
right eye—while giving chase against an elusive opponent. Ulberg
countered beautifully throughout and landed a majority of the
consequential blows, staggering his Swiss counterpart more than
once in the first two rounds.
The 34-year-old Ulberg now finds himself on a seven-fight winning
streak.
Finally, Xinjiang Fight Gym product Mingyang
Zhang brought down former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion
Osman
Diaz with a standing elbow strike and follow-up punches in the
first round of their light heavyweight appetizer. His star on the
rise at 205 pounds, Zhang (18-6, 2-0 UFC) drew the curtain 2:25
into Round 1.
Diaz (9-3, 0-1 UFC) was not afforded the opportunity to get in
gear. Zhang tested the waters with low kicks, set his range with a
few multi-punch bursts and felled the Brazilian on the counter as
they closed in on one another.
He floored Diaz with the elbow and pounced with punches until the
job was done.
Zhang, 26, has rattled off 11 straight victories, all of them
finishes.
In preliminary action, Lone’er
Kavanagh (8-0, 1-0 UFC) kept his perfect professional record
intact with a unanimous decision over Jose Ochoa
(7-1, 0-1 UFC) in a three-round flyweight tilt, drawing 30-27,
29-28 and 29-28 scores from the cageside judges; Su Young
You (14-3, 1-0 UFC) cruised to a three-round unanimous decision
over Jieleyisi
Baergeng (18-6, 0-1 UFC) in the “Road to UFC” Season 3
bantamweight final, carrying the cards with 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28
scores; Dong Hun
Choi (9-0, 1-0 UFC) wiped out Kierandip
Singh Sahota (12-3, 0-1 UFC)
with a clean right hook 2:36 into the first round of their “Road to
UFC 3” flyweight final; Ming Shi
(17-5, 1-0 UFC) cut down Xiaocan
Feng (10-3, 0-1 UFC)
with a head kick 46 seconds into the third round of their “Road to
UFC” Season 3 women’s strawweight final; Carlos
Hernandez>A? (10-4, 3-3 UFC) was awarded split scorecards—29-28,
28-29, 29-28—over Nyamjargal
Tumendemberel (8-1, 0-1 UFC) in a three-round flyweight tiff;
Long
Xiao (27-9, 1-0 UFC) put away Quang Le (8-2,
0-2 UFC)
with punches 1:28 into the third round of their bantamweight
affair; and Nikolas
Motta (15-5, 3-2 UFC) took a unanimous decision from Maheshate
Hayisaer (10-4, 2-3 UFC in a three-round lightweight pairing,
earning 30-27 marks across the board.