Yan beats Figueiredo in UFC Macau main event
Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan put on a vintage performance as he defeated Deiveson Figueiredo via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) in the UFC Macau main event Saturday at Galaxy Arena in Macau, China.
Yan handed Figueiredo, a former flyweight champ, his first loss since moving to 135 pounds.
Yan earned his second win of the year, putting himself back in the title conversation and a somewhat recent three-fight losing streak fully behind him. Yan and Figueiredo were ranked No. 3 and No. 5 in the division coming in, respectively.
"No Mercy" called for a rematch with bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili in his postfight interview.
"Before my fight, Merab said Deiveson Figueiredo was No. 1 contender who deserved 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 rematch with Merab. Let's go."
Yan returned to the Octagon just eight months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL and meniscus. He suffered the injuries in a win over Song Yadong at UFC 299 in March.
The 50-45 scores for Yan do not reflect the competitive nature of Saturday's matchup against Figueiredo, an entertaining, back-and-forth affair that primarily took place in the stand-up department. Yan mixed up his offense on the feet well and stayed quite a bit busier than Figueiredo, but Figueiredo had his moments and even wobbled Yan in the fourth round.
Yan's output was indeed the difference-maker in the end, though, as he outlanded Figueiredo 121-53 in significant strikes. Neither fighter officially scored a knockdown, but Yan appeared to sit Figueiredo down with a short uppercut in the third round, and Figueiredo hurt Yan with a right hand in the fourth.
Yan completed one of four takedown attempts, while Figueiredo converted two of eight. They each racked up about three minutes of control time on the ground.
In the first round, Figueiredo scored an early takedown before Yan spun out of the position and and got on top two minutes later, landing a few punches. Yan closed the round with a knee. The second was very close, with Yan staying composed as he landed kicks to Figueiredo's head, body, and legs. Figueiredo connected on a big right hand and partially landed a spinning kick to the body that Yan shrugged off.
Yan's best round was the third. He began to take control of the fight and pull away from Figueiredo as he hurt him with an uppercut and landed a flurry of heavy punches. Yan continued to chew Figueiredo up on the feet in the fourth, picking him apart with a variety of strikes. But Figueiredo made the round close by briefly flooring Yan with a right and then landing a big punch to the body.
Yan stayed busier than Figueiredo in the fifth, sealing the victory on the judges' scorecards.
The 31-year-old Russian has now won at least two in a row for the first time since 2020. Yan earned a unanimous decision win over Song in March, snapping a three-fight skid that consisted of split-decision losses to former champions Aljamain Sterling and Sean O'Malley in 2022 and a lopsided defeat to Dvalishvili in 2023. Yan held the 135-pound belt from 2020-21.
Figueiredo falls to 3-1 in the bantamweight division with the loss.
"What a fight," Figueiredo said. "Tonight was Petr Yan's night. ... I will come back stronger. I always do this."
The 36-year-old Brazilian moved up in weight last year and beat Marlon "Chito" Vera, Cody Garbrandt, and Rob Font to become a top-five contender. Before Saturday, Figueiredo hadn't lost since dropping the 125-pound belt to Brandon Moreno in January 2023.