5 reasons why Sean O'Malley might beat Petr Yan (and 5 reasons why he might not)

#3. Can't win: Takedowns

Petr Yan is by no means a wrestler. However, in recent years, he has taken to mixing in takedowns with his striking to disrupt his opponent's rhythm.

First, 'No Mercy' imposes his boxing, using it to draw the opponent into a rhythm established only by punches, pivots, etc. Once his foes grow accustomed to his pressure boxing, Yan introduces takedowns to disrupt the rhythm he's forced his opponents to expect.

Not only will this enable him to dictate O'Malley's reactions, which 'Sugar' is unaccustomed to experiencing as he is often the one dictating his foe's reactions, but it will be facilitated by Sean O'Malley's frequent kicks. Most of Yan's takedowns come as counters. Against Sterling, he caught one of the reigning UFC bantamweight champion's kicks to secure a single-leg takedown.

Sterling, however, defended well, framing off of Yan while extending his caught leg to prevent Yan from sweeping his standing one. Yan, in turn, hooked his other arm around Sterling's ankle, inching forward by repeating the action with his other arm, lifting his foe's leg higher and higher before offsetting his balance for a trip-takedown.

If the Russian can do so against a high-level wrestler like Sterling, O'Malley will have to be wary of throwing kicks recklessly lest Yan catch one and chain it into a trip-takedown.

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#2. Can win: Yan is a slow starter

The future bout between Sean O'Malley and Petr Yan is scheduled for three rounds instead of five. Historically, 'No Mercy' has been a slow starter who uses the first two rounds to make reads on his opponent's reactions to inform his chosen path as an offensive striker.

The reprecussions for doing so typically result in the Russian rendering it easier than it should be for his foes to reliably steal the first two rounds based almost solely on activity, even if he's sustaining no damage due to his airtright defensive striking.

O'Malley, who is anything but a slow starter, will be primed to capitalize on Yan's exceptionally low volume in their fight's opening rounds to outpoint him.

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#1. Can't win: Thus far, O'Malley has underperformed against top competition

Sean O'Malley's career has produced enough knockouts and flashy striking displays to crowd a substantial highlight reel. Though it is to his detriment that these performances have only come against opponents who weren't and will never be ranked in the top 10 of the bantamweight division.

Every time 'Sugar' has faced a stiff test up the rankings, he's underperformed. Marlon Vera defeated him and O'Malley's uninspired effort against Pedro Munhoz ended in a no contest, with neither fighter managing to impose themselves. With that, it's possible that there's a lower limit to O'Malley's abilities inside the octagon than some think.

Petr Yan represents the rising bantamweight star's most difficult test yet, and by quite a significant margin. Given O'Malley's past struggles against top-10 bantamweights, he'll likely face similar difficulties against the former world champion.