Petr Yan is a case study on how fortunes can change in the blink of an eye in the UFC. After bursting onto the scene in 2018, ripping off eight straight wins on his way to capturing the bantamweight championship, he lost his title to Aljamain Sterling in a still somewhat controversial DQ loss via an illegal knee to the head in the spring of 2021.
He bounced back impressively in his next bout later that year, winning a decision against Cory Sandhagen. But mixed martial arts can be a zero-sum game and he lost his next three fights, albeit to the last three champions in the 135-pound division: a decision loss in a rematch against Sterling in April 2022, a highly controversial decision loss against Sean O’Malley at UFC 280 that October and a one-sided loss to current champion Merab Dvalishvili in March 2023.
