Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan has aspirations to skip ahead of Umar Nurmagomedov in the queue to fight current champion Merab Dvalishvili if he can beat ex-flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC Fight Night 248 this weekend.
“Deiveson is a former champ, and also Merab has been saying that he’s the only real deserving challenger for his belt,” Yan told UFC News. “So for me, it’s a good opportunity for me to get this position, to beat him and challenge for the belt instead of him.”
It’s been widely believed that Nurmagomedov’s six-fight winning streak, including a decision win over Cody Sandhagen last time out, has confirmed that he’ll be next to fight for the belt, but with Dvalishvili has doubts about the No.2 contender’s credentials to be facing him at this stage, so Yan sees his upcoming bout as an unofficial title eliminator.
“I believe this is a No. 1 contender’s fight,” Yan said. “Merab is currently champ, but I believe that he’s not ready to defend his title just yet, especially against Umar. It seems like he is avoiding him. Also Umar, I believe he maybe needs a couple of good wins too. So, with a win over Deiveson, I believe that I can get back into the title picture and challenge for the belt again.”
Despite his confidence it feels like this may be more hope than expectation on Yan’s part as though he’s still an excellent fighter, his recent record is salty, with just two wins in his last six fights.
And adding to the obstacles in his way, Yan already lost to Dvalishvili just last year, so it’s likely the UFC brass will be eager to bring in a new opponent to challenge the champion instead.
That being said, 31-year-old Yan has every chance of pushing back into the title picture before too much longer, and a win over a respected former champion like Figueiredo can only be good for his career.
