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Petr Yan is ranked at #3 in the Bantamweight Division and is set to take on Marlon Moraes in a headliner for UFC's first event in Kazakhstan this June. It's undoubtedly a title eliminator, while Aljamain Sterling waits for his return and gets back in the mix.
Another interesting fight reportedly being targeted for May or June is Cory Sandhagen vs Dominick Cruz.
Petr Yan appeared on MMA Fighting’s Eurobash podcast and said that he couldn't say that he was expecting a title shot nor was he upset at Cejudo's decision to face Jose Aldo at UFC 250:
“If I need to prove to everyone and to the division that I deserve to fight for the title, I can do it with my actions. Like I’ve said before, if I have to clean out the division to get this title shot I will do it no problem.”
He slammed Cejudo for his behavior as Champion and said that while he doesn't dislike him, he wants to beat him up:
“If you look at Cejudo as a champion, he won the flyweight title and never defended his belt. He was holding up the division and the division was [called into question]. After he won the bantamweight title he also didn’t defend his belt for a long time and was hesitant about his next move and was holding up the division too. I can’t say I dislike him, but I want to beat him up and I think he doesn’t have b**ls.”
Yan said he wants to fight Cejudo purely for sporting reasons and not a personal vendetta. He also believes that the Champion opting to face Jose Aldo proves that he isn't confident.
“For me, it’s mainly a sport interest. He’s got what I want and that’s why I want to fight him. He’ll have to try harder. By him saying that he wants to fight Aldo because he’s coming back from injury, I think it shows that he’s not confident in himself. He’s saying I beat up a 41-year-old skateboarder, but that was a guy that he was calling out too. I don’t get him.”
Yan makes a lot of interesting points and a win over Moraes could cement his place as the next contender. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out, as another two contenders could be lined up immediately after. The Bantamweight division is among the most exciting weight classes in UFC today.
