« No Mercy »
21-5-0 (W-L-D)
vs Merab Dvalishvili Title Bonus
UFC 333 · Oct 24, 2026 · Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
vs Merab Dvalishvili Title Bonus
UFC 323 · Dec 6, 2025 · Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder · Jul 26, 2025 · Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Figueiredo · Nov 23, 2024 · Macau SAR, China
vs Song Yadong
UFC 299 · Mar 9, 2024 · Miami, Florida, United States
UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili · Mar 11, 2023 · Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
vs Sean O'Malley Bonus
UFC 280 · Oct 22, 2022 · Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
vs Aljamain Sterling Title
UFC 273 · Apr 9, 2022 · Jacksonville, Florida, United States
vs Cory Sandhagen Title Bonus
UFC 267 · Oct 30, 2021 · Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
UFC 259 · Mar 6, 2021 · Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
vs José Aldo Title
UFC 251 · Jul 12, 2020 · Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
vs Urijah Faber Bonus
UFC 245 · Dec 14, 2019 · Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
vs Jimmie Rivera
UFC 238 · Jun 8, 2019 · Chicago, Illinois, United States
vs John Dodson
UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Santos · Feb 23, 2019 · Prague, Czech Republic
UFC 232 · Dec 29, 2018 · Inglewood, California, United States
vs Son Jin-soo Bonus
UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik · Sep 15, 2018 · Moscow, Russia
vs Teruto Ishihara
UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards · Jun 23, 2018 · Kallang, Singapore
vs Matheus Mattos Title
ACB 71 · Sep 23, 2017 · Moscow, Russia
vs Magomed Magomedov Title
ACB 57 · Apr 15, 2017 · Moscow, Russia
vs Ed Arthur
ACB 41 · Jul 15, 2016 · Sochi, Russia
vs Magomed Magomedov Title
ACB 32 · Mar 26, 2016 · Moscow, Russia
vs Murad Kalamov
ACB 24 · Oct 24, 2015 · Moscow, Russia
vs Artur Mirzakhanyan
Professional Fight Night 10: Russia Cup · Jul 5, 2015 · Omsk, Russia
vs Kharon Orzumiev
ACB 19 · May 30, 2015 · Kaliningrad, Russia
vs Renato Velame
ACB 14 · Feb 28, 2015 · Grozny, Russia
vs Murad Bakiev
Siberian League: Baikal Cup 2014 · Dec 20, 2014 · Irkutsk, Russia
Petr Yan became the UFC bantamweight champion again on December 6, 2025, by beating Merab Dvalishvili by decision at UFC 323. Four years after losing the belt by disqualification, the Russian rebuilt his case fight after fight.
Born on February 11, 1993, in Dudinka, in northern Siberia, Yan grew up in Yekaterinburg. He comes from boxing, which he practiced as an amateur before switching to mixed martial arts, and he rounded out his training with judo and wrestling.
He turned professional in 2014 and made his name in Absolute Championship Berkut, where he became the bantamweight champion in 2017. He arrived in the UFC in 2018 with a record of 10 wins and 1 loss, and trains between Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, Archangel Michael Fight Club and American Top Team.
He debuted in the organization in June 2018 in Singapore with a first-round KO of Teruto Ishihara. Decisions followed against Son Jin-soo in Moscow, John Dodson in Prague and Jimmie Rivera at UFC 238, a stoppage of Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC 232, then a head kick KO of Urijah Faber at UFC 245 in 43 seconds. In July 2020, at UFC 251, he stopped Jose Aldo in the fifth round to win the vacant bantamweight title.
What came next was rockier. At UFC 259, in March 2021, he lost the belt by disqualification after landing a knee on a grounded Aljamain Sterling. He won the interim title in October 2021 against Cory Sandhagen, then suffered three straight decision losses: Sterling at UFC 273, Sean O’Malley at UFC 280 and Merab Dvalishvili in March 2023.
His comeback began in March 2024 with a win over Song Yadong at UFC 299. He then beat Deiveson Figueiredo in Macau in November 2024, then Marcus McGhee in Abu Dhabi in July 2025. On December 6, 2025, he took the belt from Merab Dvalishvili after five rounds that earned Fight of the Night.
On October 24, 2026, at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, he defended his belt against Dvalishvili in the third meeting of their trilogy. Down on the first two rounds, he turned the fight around by winning the final three rounds and retained his title by unanimous decision.
Yan is a pressure boxer who moves forward while switching stances and works the body as much as the head. He mixes short combinations, elbows on the ground and low kicks, and his striking volume stays high over five rounds. His takedown defense lets him stay on his feet against wrestlers, and he often follows a head slip with a counter.
Twelve of his twenty wins came by decision, seven by KO or TKO and only one by submission. That breakdown fits a fighter who builds his advantage round after round rather than on a single moment, and his three five-round championship fights since 2024 have all gone the distance.
Data updated on October 28, 2026. Record and measurements cross-checked against official results and Wikipedia. Text written by the MMA Official editorial team.
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