Petr Yan

Petr Yan says no one at the top of the bantamweight division wants to fight him. Yan is coming off a split decision loss to Aljamain Sterling back in April as he looked to reclaim his bantamweight title. Since then, he has been clamoring for a fight and said he would be ready to return in the fall, yet it appears he is having a hard time getting a willing opponent.

Petr Yan wants back in to the 135-pound title mix. So long as Aljamain Sterling holds the belt, however, it’s a bit of an awkward road for the Russian kickboxer. The only real solution is to get active and start picking up wins, which is why Yan has been vocal about a fall return to action.

On the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, Neil Magny and Merab Dvalishvili join the show. Magny will preview his upcoming fight against rising star Shavkat Rakhmonov and why he’s been so willing to take fights against highly touted prospects while other ranked welterweights refuse to even entertain those kinds of opponents.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo recently canceled his short-lived retirement after quickly realizing that a dozen fights under the UFC banner is not enough to carry him across the finish line. That’s a select club and “Triple C” has yet to earn a membership. Now that...

Henry Cejudo hasn’t had a fight in two years but that hasn’t stopped him from trading barbs with the likes of Petr Yan. Cejudo and Yan have actually been hurling verbal shots at one another for a while now. Yan insists that Cejudo retired from MMA competition to avoid fighting him.

With most of the bantamweight division’s top-ranked contenders already paired off, Petr Yan has his sights set on a fellow former world champion in Henry Cejudo. Yan is looking for a big fight following his UFC 273 title unification loss to Aljamain Sterling in April. With Sterling targeted to defend against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 279 in September — along with matchups including Jose Aldo vs. Merab Dvalishvili, Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz, and Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong all slated for future cards — “No Mercy” turned his attention to Cejudo, who is back in the USADA pool after ending his retirement.

Georgian Merab Dvalishvili is one of the top fighters in the bantamweight category, and the impression is that he is going to the very top through the "small door" By this, we do not mean that he does not beat quality opponents, but he is not given the attention he deserves.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan has now dropped two fights to current 135-pound titleholder Aljamain Sterling and regardless of whether or not you agree with how those two bouts played out, “No Mercy” is going to have to rack up a few more wins before the promotion grants him a third crack at “Funk Master.”

Marlon Vera has his eyes on the bantamweight title, but he’s willing to take a detour if that’s what the UFC wants. In April, Vera won a unanimous decision over Rob Font, battering him for 25 minutes in the main event of UFC Vegas 53. The win was Vera’s third in a row and catapulted him into the top-five of the UFC’s rankings. Now, on the cusp of true contention, “Chito” is hoping to punch his ticket to a title shot with a win over former champion Petr Yan.

Marlon Vera has sent a word of warning to Petr Yan as the two continue to tease a showdown later this year. In the wake of his win over Rob Font, Marlon Vera clearly feels like he’s arrived at the elite level in the bantamweight division. He may be brash and he may be in the face of his divisional rivals, but he’s got the skills to back it up – and something tells us he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come.

Marlon Vera and Petr Yan can’t seem to come to an agreement on when they’d like to meet inside the Octagon. Vera has been very vocal about wanting a fight with Yan next, feeling it’s the best available match up that could propel him into title contention. However, Vera seems to want to fight Yan as soon as August.

Marlon Vera believes he is one win away from a title shot. Vera is coming off his first UFC main event where he defeated Rob Font by decision. He now has his eyes set on Petr Yan. ‘Chito’ believes if he can defeat the Russian that would cement his status as the number one contender and he believes Yan also wants the fight.

UFC bantamweight Marlon Chito Vera has his eyes set on the top contender Petr Yan for his next fight. Coming off a statement win over Rob Font at UFC Vegas 53, Chito Vera moves closer to getting a shot at the 135-lbs gold. Scoring three knockdowns during the fight, Vera put in an incredible performance for his debut five-round fight. Although Font reflected an impressive amount of significant strikes, he would ultimately avoid a finish to lose out on the judges’ scorecard.

Song Yadong is calling for a rematch with Marlon Vera and ‘Chito’ has responded. It was two years ago that Song Yadong (19-6 MMA) got in the Octagon with Marlon Vera (19-7 MMA) in a featherweight bout. The outcome was to be in favor of Song, with fans and media alike believing that ‘Chito’ got robbed.

Aljamain Sterling nearly retired before his rematch with Petr Yan at UFC 273. Sterling was recently a guest on “The Schmozone Podcast” to talk about his successful UFC bantamweight title defense. During the interview, Sterling revealed that the tumultuous battle back to full health ahead of the bout nearly made him decide to just retire.