Petr Yan proved once again that h’s an exceptionally dangerous fighter tonight at UFC 245 as he dropped Urijah Faber multiple times on his way to a third round head kick knockout victory.
Round One:
Faber throws out an early body kick that comes up a little short. Yan taking the center of the cage here. Body kick does land this time for Faber. Leg kick for Yan.
Nicely timed stepping knee for Faber. Faber still mostly on the back foot though as Yan stalks him. Left hand just lands for Yan.
leg kick for Yan. Head kick almost landed for Yan and punches behind it. Faber with a high kick, but doesn’t land.
Right hand for Faber and then a left, but Yan’s guard is high. Punch lands for Yan. Faber presses back at him though.
Body kick for Ya, but Faber does partially catch that and thinks about a takedown. they continue at striking range instead though.
Another brief clinch and then back to striking. left hand from Faber hits the guard of Yan. Yan misses with a huge uppercut.
In close and this time Yan does land an uppercut. Yan threatening but Faber does land a left hand. Another clinch and Yan lands a left and right hook on the way back out.
Leg kick for Faber. Jab for him too. He throws the jab again. Yan leaping into a knee as the round comes to a close.
Round Two:
Right hand for Faber. He tries to step into a knee upstairs, but just misses. Inside leg kick for Faber. They clinch up for a moment and then a nice left hook for Faber.
Yan still being patient here. Faber misses and Yan lands a combination in close. Faber clinches and presses Yan to the cage though.
They move away from the cage and Faber lands a left hand. Nice right for Faber. Left connects for Yan. Jab from him too.
Faber does well to duck under a punch and go for a single leg, but Yan defends it well. A big right hand from Yan drops ‘The California Kid’.
However, he seems to still have his bearings as he smiles out at his wife and child Octagonside.
Faber manages to get up and land a big shot as he does so. Faber bleeding but still in the fight. However, Yan lands hard again and he’s down again.
Faber’s left eye is a mess with a huge haematoma developing there in addition to bleeding and that forces a stoppage so the doctor can check on him. he’s ok to continue for now though.
They start on the ground and are soon back up. Faber stumbles again after a punch but seems ok. Final stages of the round and Yan even manages to land a takedown.
Round Three:
Solid jab for Yan. Now a hard body kick. Faber almost ducks into a head kick from Yan. They clinch up. As they seperate again Yan unleashes a head kick despite still being at close range and it drops Faber hard, and thankfully this time the referee moves in to end the fight by KO before Faber takes any further damage with 0.43mins of the third round gone.
So it was a very tough night for the always game Faber as many had predicted but Yan still managed to make a big statement with the manner in which he dismantled the veteran star.
