Petr
Yan is considering a move to featherweight in the future.
Yan was recently asked whether he would be interested in fighting
Joshua
Van if the
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion moves up to
bantamweight. The Russian said that question is for Van to answer,
as the decision to change weight classes is his to make.
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Why Petr Yan is hesitant to challenge Alexander Volkanovski at
145 pounds
“No Mercy” indicated that he is more interested in moving up to
featherweight but has no desire to fight his friend, reigning
145-pound champion Alexander
Volkanovski.
“If someone wants to move up and challenge me, it’s a question for
them, not for me,” Yan told Full Violence. “But personally, for
myself, moving up sounds interesting too, maybe somewhere in the
future. Just 145 pounds champ is my friend Alex Volkanovski, so I
don’t want to beat him up.”
Yan (20-5) reclaimed the bantamweight title with an upset victory
over Merab
Dvalishvili (21-5) last December, more than two years after
losing their first meeting in lopsided fashion. He is scheduled to
defend the belt in a trilogy bout against Dvalishvili at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates. Volkanovski (28-4) is slated to defend his featherweight
crown on the same card against undefeated contender Movsar
Evloev (20-0).
Petr Yan talks
about moving up to 145 and how he wouldn’t want to face his friend
Alexander
Volkanovski 👀 “Moving up sounds interesting to me, maybe
somewhere in the future. Just 145 pounds champ is my friend Alex
Volkanovski so I don’t want to beat him up.”
https://t.co/nZS1ORu3eT— Full Violence ™ (@Full_Violence)
October 7, 2026