Petr Yan (aka “No Mercy”), born 11th February, 1993, in Dudinka, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, is a 16-2, mixed martial artist and is the current interim Bantamweight Champion and former UFC Bantamweight Champion. He stands 11th in the men’s UFC pound for pound rankings.
The 28 year-old Yan holds notable wins over José Aldo, Urijah Faber, Cory Sandhagen, Jimmie Rivera, and John Dodson and is vigorously seeking to add to his already outstanding resumé.
Yan’s fighting style is mainly centred around his terrific forward pressure, and tremendous boxing ability, combined with great defensive wrestling. Yan trained in boxing for 8 years and received the rank of Master of Sport in Boxing in Russia, which amply explains the excellent boxing skills he displays in the UFC today.
This stunning pugilistic skill is further turbo-charged with incredible KO capacity, especially for a Bantamweight fighter; Yan’s power being responsible for 7 KO victories among his 16 wins with just 1 of his wins being via submission.
Yan’s professional career started in December 2014, where he would KO Murad Bakiev in the 3rd round; Yan would quickly enter the Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) organisation by just his second fight.
Yan would go on to win the ACB Bantamweight Grand Prix by only his fifth fight, however would suffer his first career defeat in his sixth fight for the ACB’s vacant, bantamweight title against Magomed Magomedov in a split decision (after being deducted a point for headbutting).
However, “No Mercy” Yan would get back on track with a win against Ed Arthur, which would earn him a rematch against Magomed Magomedov, where Yan would avenge his loss, winning the ACB title by unanimous decision.
It would only take one defence of his ACB title for the UFC to come calling with Yan getting his UFC debut in 2018 against Teruto Ishihara, where he would impress with a destructive 1st-round KO.
Yan would put together a 5-fight win streak in the UFC after defeating Douglas Silva de Andrade, Jin Soo Son, Jimmie Rivera and John Dodson before taking on Urijah Faber where he would finish the fight with an outstanding head kick KO which would land him a shot at the vacant Bantamweight title.
Yan would take on legend José Aldo in a 5-round war where Yan would score a late TKO finish to crown himself king of the Bantamweight division. Yan would also look to defend his title against Aljamain “Funk Master” Sterling, however, disqualification due to an illegal knee would force Yan to lose the belt.
However, in his most recent fight to date, Yan would put on a clinic against Cory Sandhagen where he would become the Interim Bantamweight Champion with a Fight of the Night Performance.
Yan looks to unify the belts against Aljamain Sterling; however, if ‘Aljo’ is unable to make it, would you not be keen to see a Yan vs. Dillashaw match up?
Okay, so now that you have a snapshot of “No Mercy’s” backstory, let’s take a closer look at Petr Yan’s Top 5 MMA Finishes! (in descending order)
5. Vs. Kharon Orzumiev – ACB 19: Baltic Challenge (May 30, 2015)
In his third professional fight, Yan would take on Kharon Orzumiev, where he would earn his quickest finish to date in the Absolute Championship Berkut Grand Prix Semi-Final. This would account for the only submission win on his record to date.
From round 1, the fight would almost immediately hit the ground, and from the bottom, Yan would lock up a guillotine choke and finish the fight at just 47 seconds into the fight.
This win would take Yan to 3-0 and, in his fifth fight, he would go on to win the Absolute Championship Berkut Grand Prix Final against Murad Kalamov.
4. Vs. Matheus Mattos – ACB 71: Moscow (Sept. 23, 2017)
In his ninth professional fight, Yan would defend his Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) championship for the first time against Matheus Mattos, and this performance would be enough to earn him a contract with the UFC.
In round 1, Yan’s immense pressure continuously forces Mattos to back away, his back very rarely leaving the side of the cage. Yan is able to simply dominate the round through footwork and octagon control.
Round 2 immediately becomes more action-packed than the first as, at 35 seconds in, Yan lands a whipping, overhand right that sends Mattos flying to the floor but he’s able to survive Yan’s onslaught and returns to his feet shortly after.
Yan goes back to his pressing style and begins to catch Mattos with heavy strikes, and, with 1:30 left in the round, trips Mattos to the canvas and further gets in some solid work.
This was an explosive round from Yan where he was close to a finish, but Mattos used his experience well to endure the beatdown.
Round 3 was similar to the second, starting out explosively with both fighters unleashing powerful, extended combinations. Neither yield until, just over 2 minutes in, a rising, violent Yan uppercut rips through Mattos’ guard and immediately renders him unconscious at 2:27 of round 3.
A terrifying KO finish by Yan enabled him to defend his ACB title and would give him the needed exposure to sign a contract with the UFC.
3. Vs. Teruto Ishihara – UFC FN 132 (June 23, 2018)
Yan would make his UFC debut against Teruto Ishihara, and would burst onto the bantamweight scene with 1st-round destruction that would introduce him as an immediate one to watch out for given his title aspirations.
In round 1, Yan immediately takes the front foot in an attempt to make the octagon as small as possible. However, at 1:10 in, Ishihara briefly has success with a double leg takedown, but Yan quickly gets back to his feet.
Ishihara continues to keep moving away from Yan but at 3 minutes in, Yan finds his target with a devastating, overhand left that drops Ishihara to the floor.
Yan tries to get the finish, but Ishihara does well to survive and get back to his feet.
Shortly after, a straight right puts Ishihara down for the second time, and the fight is stopped at 3:28 of round 1.
This outstanding debut put Yan on the UFC and bantamweight main stage, and quickly established him as a serious contender and future champion.
2. Vs. Urijah Faber – UFC 245 (Dec. 14, 2019)
Yan would take on “The California Kid”, Urijah Faber, an MMA legend and one of the best bantamweights of all time; a win here would, of course, make a great addition to Yan’s resumé.
In round 1, and in true “No Mercy” style, Yan instantly puts Faber on the back foot as he advances with intelligent pressure, using it to solve the puzzle that is Faber.
With a minute left in the round Yan almost seems to have unravelled Faber as he lands a solid uppercut and a trailing elbow, stunning his opponent.
In round 2, Yan continues to press the fight; however, at 1:30 Faber is able to control him in a clinch up against the cage, but it’s not long before Yan escapes.
At 2:35, a straight right jab knocks Faber to the canvas and almost out, but the wily veteran manages to somehow survive.
With 1:45 left on the clock, Faber is again knocked down, but still, Yan is unable to get the finish. Faber is able to make it to the end of the round despite looking worse for wear.
In round 3, the now-battered and bruised Faber shows he’s still in the bout, but at just over 40 seconds in, a debilitating front, head kick immediately finishes the fight at 43 seconds (of round 3).
This brutal finish against an MMA legend earned Yan a $50,000 Performance of the Night Bonus.
1. Vs. José Aldo – UFC 251 (July 12, 2020)
At UFC 251, Yan would take on Jose Aldo – a living legend in the MMA world – for the vacant Bantamweight title. However, it would take a 5-round war for Yan to be crowned king of the division.
In round 1, both fighters battle for position and octagon control, but it is Yan who finds the first big shot of the night with a thunderous right hand at 1:20 into the contest that sends Aldo stumbling back.
Despite this, Aldo remains calm, and soon after, at 1:45, a stunning leg kick knocks Yan off his feet followed by a powerful Aldo uppercut showing he’s still a live wire.
By the back end of the round, Aldo begins to up his output and continues to detonate heavy leg blows and with 45 seconds left in the round, Aldo shoots for a takedown, but Yan defends it well.
Yan ends up reversing Aldo to take top position, and begins landing heavy artillery from the top that visibly hurts Aldo’s body.
In round 2, at 2 minutes in, Aldo goes back to his kicking game with great effect, causing Yan to switch stance and pull back his forward pressure.
With a minute left in the round, Aldo turns it on, upping his intensity with a head kick that lands, as well as several crushing body strikes. This was a competitive round, and by this point, looking to be a round apiece going into the third.
In round 3, at 1:35 in, Aldo once again targets Yan’s body as he slips his opponent’s strikes and dips in to land brutal body shots.
Both fighters begin to close the range and shoot intelligent strikes, with Aldo having better success within the first half of the round, whilst Yan gained the upper hand in the second half. Aldo also appeared to be getting tired.
In round 4, at a minute in, Aldo returns to dig vicious hooks into Yan, but Yan does well to counter with check hooks in a very even trade.
Although Aldo again had a great start, he appears to fade past the middle of this round, and this is evident as with 1:15 left, Yan’s ripping uppercuts shake Aldo prior to Yan tripping him to the floor where he controls Aldo until the end of the round.
With a dominant round-4 end, the fight looks to be 3-1 Yan, as we go into round 5 – all the momentum stacking in Yan’s favor.
In the 5th and final round, a huge power surge becomes evident as at 10 seconds in, Yan lands a straight 1-2 sending Aldo flying to the cage with a following uppercut knocking Aldo down. Yan jumps down into half guard looking to finish the fight, but Aldo is resilient, and is able to survive.
A dominant, and destructive round by Yan culminates in the final 2 minutes where he finally gets the finish with TKO punches at 3:24 of round 5, crowning Yan the King of the Bantamweight division.
Yan dispatched the legendary José Aldo in a 5-round war that was certainly worthy of taking the Bantamweight Champion’s throne – adding possibly the best name to date on his resumé!
