Best and Worst from UFC Fight Night 145: Blachowicz vs. Santos

#3 Best: Petr Yan is for real

Petr Yan beat up John Dodson to affirm his title credentials

Russian Bantamweight Petr Yan had been perfect in his UFC career – icing Teruto Ishihara, Jin Soo Son and Douglas Silva de Andrade in the Octagon – but last night was by far his toughest test to date against former Flyweight title challenger John Dodson. But when the bright lights were on him, ‘No Mercy’ delivered in spades.

In what was perhaps the best fight of the night, Yan simply showed no respect for Dodson’s vaunted striking, walking him down to deliver big shots from the first round all the way until the final buzzer. Dodson certainly had his moments in this fight – most notably a second-round knockdown that arguably won him the round – but for the most part, it appeared that ‘The Magician’ was outclassed – something that we’ve rarely seen before.

During the pre-fight talk, announcer John Gooden mentioned that Yan had stated that he didn’t care about Dodson – he wants Dillashaw, Cruz, Moraes or Garbrandt – and judging on last night’s showing he might have a chance against any of those 4. Apparently, the Russian wants Jimmie Rivera next though, and that would be a hell of a fight.

Throw those names in with the on-form Aljamain Sterling and the always-dangerous Raphael Assuncao – as well as a huge wild card in the form of Flyweight champ Henry Cejudo – and 135lbs might be the most loaded division in the whole promotion. And after last night, there’s no doubt that Yan is for real and that he belongs in the conversation with those top fighters.