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UFC 306 (aka "Noche UFC") takes place Saturday, so it's time to break down the top fights, plus make DFS picks and predictions for the key matchups on the card.
UFC Vegas 93 takes place Saturday, and Jon Litterine is back to break down the top fights, plus offer his DFS picks and predictions for the key matchups on the card.
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The most intriguing MMA bets, top DFS picks across multiple sites and predictions for this weekend's UFC 299 card are live before Saturday's event, courtesy of Chris Olson.
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Set for major knee surgery
Yan suffered a ruptured ACL among other injuries in his UFC 299 victory over Yadong Song, Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
As a result, Yan is set to undergo surgery and will miss the remainder of the 2024 calendar year. It's an incredibly tough break, as Yan had moved up to No. 4 in the UFC bantamweight rankings after snapping a a three-fight skid (that was against elite competition). Yan will likely look to avenge his loss to current champion Sean O'Malley at some point down the road, though it remains to be seen if O'Malley will still hold the belt by the time Yan is healthy. Even if that's the case, Yan would still likely be a win or two away from a title shot.
As a result, Yan is set to undergo surgery and will miss the remainder of the 2024 calendar year. It's an incredibly tough break, as Yan had moved up to No. 4 in the UFC bantamweight rankings after snapping a a three-fight skid (that was against elite competition). Yan will likely look to avenge his loss to current champion Sean O'Malley at some point down the road, though it remains to be seen if O'Malley will still hold the belt by the time Yan is healthy. Even if that's the case, Yan would still likely be a win or two away from a title shot.
Snaps three-fight losing streak
Yan defeated Yadong Song via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC 299 on Saturday in Miami.
ANALYSIS
Yan entered this fight having lost three in a row and was again in all sorts of trouble, down a round to Song. Yet, as we have seen time and time again from Petr, he battled through a difficult situation and emerged victorious. There wasn't one single thing Yan did to turn this fight around. He didn't land one notable power shot that turned the tide or score a big takedown which led to ground control time. Instead, he got aggressive and made it ugly. Song slowing down definitely helped, but Yan would have been on his way to his fourth straight defeat had he not made a concerted effort to turn the tide. It's important to remember that those three previously mentioned losses came against a former champion in Aljamain Sterling, a current champion in Sean O'Malley and a guy in Merab Dvalishvili that many think is the best bantamweight in the world. Yan is still a player at the top of the 135-pound division.
Yan entered this fight having lost three in a row and was again in all sorts of trouble, down a round to Song. Yet, as we have seen time and time again from Petr, he battled through a difficult situation and emerged victorious. There wasn't one single thing Yan did to turn this fight around. He didn't land one notable power shot that turned the tide or score a big takedown which led to ground control time. Instead, he got aggressive and made it ugly. Song slowing down definitely helped, but Yan would have been on his way to his fourth straight defeat had he not made a concerted effort to turn the tide. It's important to remember that those three previously mentioned losses came against a former champion in Aljamain Sterling, a current champion in Sean O'Malley and a guy in Merab Dvalishvili that many think is the best bantamweight in the world. Yan is still a player at the top of the 135-pound division.
Books match with Yadong Song
The UFC announced Sunday that Yan is scheduled to face Yadong Song in a bantamweight fight at UFC 299 in Miami on March 9.
ANALYSIS
Following consecutive losses to the UFC's current top-three bantamweights, Yan will fight a rising contender next. Song, currently ranked No. 7 in the UFC's bantamweight division, won each of his last two fights. By defeating him, Yan would keep himself immediately relevant in the weight class' championship picture.
Following consecutive losses to the UFC's current top-three bantamweights, Yan will fight a rising contender next. Song, currently ranked No. 7 in the UFC's bantamweight division, won each of his last two fights. By defeating him, Yan would keep himself immediately relevant in the weight class' championship picture.
No-shows Vegas main event
Yan lost to Merab Dvalishvili via unanimous decision (45-50, 45-50, 45-50) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
This was Yan's worst performance with the UFC by a country mile, and it resulted in a defeat which is going to make it extremely difficult for him to climb the mountain once again at 135 pounds. It may have been nothing more than a bad stylistic matchup, but Yan had zero answers for Merab. Petr prefers to sit back and counter his opposition, but you simply cannot do that when facing Dvalishvili. The good news it that Yan defended a whopping 38 takedowns from his opponent. The bad news is that Merab still landed 11 of his tries. Yan actually did a decent job of not getting pinned to the mat for long stretches at a time, but the constant pressure of his opponent resulted in Petr being unable to get anything going offensively. It seems incomprehensible, but Yan has now lost three fights in a row and four of five dating back to March 2021, though one was by DQ and two were of the split-decision variety, including a particularly-questionable one against Sean O'Malley. There was absolutely no question in this one, however. To say Yan finds himself at a career crossroads is a massive understatement.
This was Yan's worst performance with the UFC by a country mile, and it resulted in a defeat which is going to make it extremely difficult for him to climb the mountain once again at 135 pounds. It may have been nothing more than a bad stylistic matchup, but Yan had zero answers for Merab. Petr prefers to sit back and counter his opposition, but you simply cannot do that when facing Dvalishvili. The good news it that Yan defended a whopping 38 takedowns from his opponent. The bad news is that Merab still landed 11 of his tries. Yan actually did a decent job of not getting pinned to the mat for long stretches at a time, but the constant pressure of his opponent resulted in Petr being unable to get anything going offensively. It seems incomprehensible, but Yan has now lost three fights in a row and four of five dating back to March 2021, though one was by DQ and two were of the split-decision variety, including a particularly-questionable one against Sean O'Malley. There was absolutely no question in this one, however. To say Yan finds himself at a career crossroads is a massive understatement.
Taking on new contender
Yan will take on Merab Dvalishvili in a bantamweight bout in the main event of the UFC's March 11 card in Las Vegas, Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
ANALYSIS
Yan is set for his first fight since his loss to Sean O'Malley via a controversial split decision in October. The 29-year-old Yan also lost his previous title bout against Aljamain Sterling in April, marking the first back-to-back losing streak of his 8-3-0 UFC career. The second-ranked bantamweight contender will now take on a much hotter fighter in Dvalishvili. The third-ranked bantamweight contender has won eight consecutive UFC contests dating back to 2018. The 32-year-old Georgian does stand one inch shorter than Yan, though this is offset by a corresponding one-inch reach advantage. Dvalishvili's background in Jiu-Jitsu could also pose a unique set of issues for the boxing-based Yan.
Yan is set for his first fight since his loss to Sean O'Malley via a controversial split decision in October. The 29-year-old Yan also lost his previous title bout against Aljamain Sterling in April, marking the first back-to-back losing streak of his 8-3-0 UFC career. The second-ranked bantamweight contender will now take on a much hotter fighter in Dvalishvili. The third-ranked bantamweight contender has won eight consecutive UFC contests dating back to 2018. The 32-year-old Georgian does stand one inch shorter than Yan, though this is offset by a corresponding one-inch reach advantage. Dvalishvili's background in Jiu-Jitsu could also pose a unique set of issues for the boxing-based Yan.