Top bantamweights Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo stood toe to toe just days out from their UFC Macau headliner.
After staging its latest pay-per-view event inside the prestigious surroundings of Madison Square Garden this past weekend, the mixed martial arts leader is on the road for a return to the “Las Vegas of the East.”
The Octagon is back in Macau — an autonomous region on the south coast of China — for the first time in a decade, with the Galaxy Arena playing host to a UFC Fight Night card on Nov. 23.
The lineup will be topped by a key clash at 135 pounds, as ex-champion Yan looks to stall the two-division ambitions of former two-time flyweight kingpin Figueiredo.
Ahead of the #3 and #5-ranked bantamweights colliding, the pair had their first faceoff on Tuesday after touching down for UFC Macau.
Figueiredo has won all three of his fights since moving up from flyweight, most recently following wins over Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt with a convincing triumph over former title challenger Marlon “Chito” Vera.
Yan, meanwhile, snapped his three-fight losing skid this year by getting the better of Song Yadong at UFC 299 in Miami this past March. The result marked his first taste of victory since interim title glory over Cory Sandhagen back in 2021.
Elsewhere on Saturday’s UFC Macau lineup, Yan Xiaonan returns for the first time since her failed title bid to defend her ranking against Tabatha Ricci, while top-10 light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir faces a fellow hard hitter in Carlos Ulberg.
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