Petr Yan was in a reflective mood after winning back the bantamweight title at UFC 323.
‘No Mercy’ became the 135lb king by knocking out Jose Aldo at UFC 251 in July 2020.
An infamous illegal knee meant he lost the belt in his first defense against Aljamain Sterling.
A split decision defeat of their rematch was the beginning of a three-fight losing streak that suggested Petr Yan‘s days as champion were over – but he’s back at the highest of the heap after 4 consecutive wins contained in the Octagon.
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Petr Yan reflects on his first title reign
Petr Yan placed on a career-best performance to beat Merab Dvalishvili within the UFC 323 fundamental event.
‘The Machine’ was on a 14-fight win streak and looked unstoppable ahead of their fight on Saturday night.
For a lot of, Merab Dvalishvili‘s latest victory was a foregone conclusion because he dominated Yan for 25 minutes once they first fought in March 2023.
Every little thing was different of their rematch, as Yan restricted the Georgian wrestler to only two takedowns.
Dvalishvili was beaten bloody on the feet over the course of a monumental five-round upset in Las Vegas.
Ultimately, the cageside UFC 323 judges scored the fight 49–46, 49–46, and 48–47 for Yan.
Who should Petr Yan fight next?
Post-fight, Yan reflected on what went unsuitable when he first became UFC champion five years ago.
“I streamlined myself to the belt really quick,” he told the UFC.
“I sort of felt like I already knew every part, and I had all the abilities for every part.
“I underestimated how much goes into this championship mentality and the preparation to be a champ.
“I do know which mistakes I allowed myself to make before that first fight.
“And I do know that the massive thing that was missing was teamwork.
That is something we now have fixed, we at the moment are a team.”
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