Yan outduels Figueiredo in battle of ex-champs

Had Saturday’s UFC main event between Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo taken place four years ago, It would have been a champion-vs.-champion superfight.

Yan and Figueiredo won UFC titles within a week of each other in July 2020, Yan at bantamweight and Figueiredo 10 pounds lighter at flyweight. But both were soon dethroned, and ever since then, they have been trying to climb back to that mountaintop. Yan took a big step in that direction with a unanimous-decision win at a matinee UFC Fight Night in Macau, China.

Yan (18-5) was taken down by Figueiredo (24-4-1) in the fight’s opening 30 seconds, but he quickly reversed position and delivered damage from the top. Yan then maintained control for the rest of the fight, winning every round on the judges’ scorecards (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) and putting and end to the 36-year-old Figueiredo’s four-fight win streak..

Yan, who is 31 and from Russia, landed more than double the significant strikes of Figueiredo (121 to 53) and was far more accurate, especially with lead uppercuts that snapped his opponent’s head back on several occasions. But Figueiredo, a two-time champion, remained dangerous the whole way, especially during a flurry late in Round 4 that put Yan briefly on retreat.

Yan quickly got back in rhythm and cruised to his second straight victory. Afterward, he called out champion Merab Dvalishvili.

“Before my fight, Merab talked Deiveson Figueiredo [as his] No. 1 contender who deserves title fight,” Yan said. “I want to say, ‘Merab, what you say now, when I beat No. 1 contender in my division?’ I want to do a match with Merab. Let’s go.”

Yan is No. 5 in ESPN’s bantamweight rankings, Figueiredo No. 7.

The main event was just one of two bouts pitting top-10 fighters against each other.

In the strawweight co-main event, Yan Xiaonan, No. 4 in the division and ranked 10th in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings, picked apart No. 10 Tabatha Ricci for three rounds and won a clear unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Yan (19-4, 1 NC) got back on track after losing to champion Zhang Weili in a title challenge in April. She was a step ahead of Ricci (11-3) the whole way, starting with a 16-0 edge in significant strikes in Round 1 on her way to a 78-15 advantage for the fight.

After the fight, Yan pointed to Zhang in the crowd and yelled, “Weili, I want a rematch!”

One other fighter in the ESPN rankings was in action: Volkan Oezdemir (20-8), the No. 8 light heavyweight. He lost a decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-27) to Carlos Ulberg (11-1), who has won seven in a row.

Earlier, strawweight Feng Xiaocan was taken from the Octagon on a stretcher and transported to a hospital after a head-kick knockout by Shi Ming in the 115-pound finale of the Road to the UFC tournament. The broadcast later updated Feng’s status, saying she sustained no fractures or neck injuries but remained hospitalized.