Hey @MMARLONMORAES, can you send me location and explain how to get there? pic.twitter.com/Sitgad8LRx
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) April 13, 2020
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight contender Petr Yan is ready for his next bout, which he predicts will undergo some changes before it takes place.
Archangel Michael Club representative Yan (14-1) believes his five-round fight with Brazilian Marlon Moraes (23-6-1) will take place in the U.S., not in Kazakhstan, as expected earlier. The two are currently slated to meet at UFC Kazakhstan on June 13, which is scheduled go down at the Astana Arena in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Yan expects the organization will relocate it.
“I hope the fight with Moraes will maintain the five-round status as we signed,” said Yan to Sherdog.com. “Now, I don’t know about Kazakhstan or the fighting island. There are a lot of points to consider – how quickly the situation with coronavirus will stabilize, whether Kazakhstan will be ready to host the tournament from an economic point of view due to the epidemic. It seems to me that now it is more likely that the fight will take place in the U.S. I hope that the situation will stabilize by June.”
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Yan also commented on the cancellation of Henry Cejudo vs. Jose Aldo: “I think neither I nor Moraes will fight with Cejudo. First, we have a signed contract. Another moment that Moraes fought for the title in his last fight and lost. The second time they won’t let him fight for the belt. And it seems that Cejudo already has an opponent for the fight.”
Cejudo is currently linked to a match against Dominick Cruz at UFC 250 on May 9. The Las Vegas-based promotion is planning on returning with a huge card topped by a trio of title fights, one of which being Cejudo vs. Cruz. Cejudo was originally slated to face Jose Aldo, but the Brazilian will be unable to leave the country due to visa issues.
The Russian has won his last nine bouts, most recently thumping Urijah Faber with a head kick at UFC 245 in December. Since signing with the UFC in 2018, Yan has won all six of his matches, including three knockouts over Faber, Douglas Silva de Andrade and Teruto Ishihara.
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