Petr Yan is riding high after earning a unanimous decision victory over the first top-10 opponent of his career in John Dodson Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 3. Petr Yan can be expected to now seize Dodson’s spot in the top #10 which is currently at #9, and he had lots to celebrate following the impressive performance.
“Prague will be on fire (Saturday),” Yan told MMAjunkie via an interpreter after the win. “A lot of good friends came from Russia to support me, over 50 people, so we’re going to celebrate.”
And as for the rankings and who might be next, Petr Yan has an ideal opponent in mind:
“I can’t say how far I am in the division. Next I want Jimmie Rivera, top six, and then we will see after that.”
Jimmie Rivera is coming off a loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC Phoenix, making it two straight losses for Rivera, who had been on a 20-fight winning streak prior. Petr Yan, on the other hand, finds himself on the uptick, winning seven straight fights and a perfect 4-0 record in the UFC. All four of those fights have come within an eight-month span, so, yeah, it might be time for “No Mercy” to have just a little bit of pity for his body:
“I fought four times in eight months,” Yan said. “What do you think? Is it frequent or not? Do you think I need to rest, or not?”
Would you like to see Petr Yan face Jimmie Rivera next? If not, whom would you pit him against instead?
