Latest news with #Yan
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Petr Yan not interested in Umar Nurmgomedov next, wants UFC 320 backup spot
ABU DHABI – Petr Yan dismissed the idea of fighting Umar Nurmagomedov next. Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) made it three-straight wins after defeating Marcus McGhee in Saturday's UFC on ABC 9 co-main event at Etihad Arena. Yan was asked about the possibility of facing Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) next, but after their initial planned booking in June fell through, he's no longer interested. "Right now, I'm not interested in fighting Umar in November in Qatar," Yan told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at the post-fight news conference. "I was offered a fight against him in Baku, Azerbaijan. I accepted it; they couldn't accept it. Then I asked for July, they also couldn't make it. Right now, I'm only focused on a title shot." Merab Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defends his bantamweight title against Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in the UFC 320 co-headliner on Oct. 4 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Yan's most recent loss came to Dvalishvili in March 2023, and he hopes to get the opportunity to avenge that setback. "Obviously, I prefer to rematch Merab to see how I'll do against him when I'm healthy," Yan said. "But, Cory's also a great fighter, interesting fighter. I had a great fight with him. I believe they're going to have a good fight, but I just believe Merab's pressure is going to be a key factor. At some point, Cory's going to fade."
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC on ABC 9 results: Petr Yan shuts down Marcus McGhee, calls for title shot
ABU DHABI – Petr Yan proved to be too much for Marcus McGhee at UFC on ABC 9. Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) showed off his diverse striking en route to a unanimous decision win (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over McGhee (10-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in Saturday's co-main event at Etihad Arena. Yan immediately put the pressure on McGhee, who kept circling out of danger. McGhee landed a hard leg kick, and Yan barely missed on the counter. Yan briefly dropped McGhee with a leg kick and tagged him with a big left hook. Yan continued to attack McGhee's legs. McGhee landed a nice combination, as Yan continued to stalk him. The pair exchanged in the pocket, with Yan clipping McGhee. Yan then landed a couple of beautiful uppercuts in the clinch, but McGhee fired back with his best shot of the round, a right hook. In Round 2, Yan continued to pressure McGhee who ducked under for a takedown. Yan defended well and broke free. Yan clipped McGhee with a straight right, but McGhee fired back with an uppercut, and a hard leg kick. Yan stumbled McGhee back with a hard right, followed by a leaping hook. McGhee started to draw blood from his left eye. Yan landed a blistering right, followed by a left hook. Yan mixed up his attack with a jumping knee, but McGhee hung tough and kept throwing back. Yan then ripped to the body. McGhee attempted a spinning wheel kick which briefly tagged Yan, but it was Yan landing the much more significant strikes. McGhee started Round 3 by landing a short combination, but Yan fired back with a left hook. McGhee shot for another takedown, but was easily shucked off. Yan backed McGhee to the fence, closing out his combination with a big body shot. Now Yan shot for a takedown, and eventually got McGhee down, but McGhee popped right back up. Yan continued holding onto him, landing knees to his thighs. As soon as McGhee broke free, Yan tripped him and tried to latch onto a kimura as the horn sounded. Yan made it three-straight wins, and wants the winner of the bantamweight title fight between champion Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 on Oct. 4. Meanwhile, McGhee suffered his first loss in the octagon. Up-to-the-minute UFC on ABC 9 results
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee prediction, pick, start time for UFC on ABC 9
Petr Yan and Marcus McGhee meet Saturday in the co-main event of UFC on ABC 9 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. Last event: 2-3 UFC main cards, 2025: 70-53-1 Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee UFC on ABC 9 preview Yan (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) appears to be back on track after ending a three-fight skid from 2022-23. The former titleholder turned in a strong 2024 campaign, picking up a unanimous decision over Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo. ... McGhee (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has been impressive thus far in his UFC career. Four fights in, he's picked up three stoppages and one unanimous decision. The fight against Yan is a big step up in competition. Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee UFC on ABC 9 expert pick, prediction The co-main event on ABC features a banger at bantamweight between Petr Yan and Marcus McGhee. Don't let his resemblance to Drexl from "True Romance" fool you, McGhee is a real-deal action fighter who is looking to prove that he can hold his own with the top of the division. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if McGhee can take the first frame off of Yan due to his heavy hands and fast starts. That said, Yan, akin to Max Holloway, is a fighter archetype I refer to as "a builder," given the fact that he tends to get better as the fight goes on. Couple that with McGhee's propensity to slightly slow down, and I suspect that the more experienced and well-rounded Yan can make the American pay for his aggression with counters, leg kicks and the like. It could be closer than it should, considering the tendency some judges have when it comes to over-rewarding the perceived 'biggest shot of the round' in favor of the work that is actually more consistent and effective, but I'll officially pick Yan to edge out the decision on the scorecards. Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee UFC on ABC 9 odds The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the Russian fighter, listing Yan -370 and McGhee +295 via FanDuel. Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee UFC on ABC 9 start time, how to watch As the co-main event, Yan and McGhee are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 1:40 p.m. ET. The fight broadcasts live on ABC and streams on ESPN+.
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC on ABC 9: Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee odds, picks and predictions
In a 3-round bantamweight bout on the main card, Petr Yan and Marcus McGhee meet Saturday at UFC on ABC 9 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The prelims begin at noon ET (ESPN / ESPN+), and the main card at 3 p.m. (ABC / ESPN+). Their fight is expected to start at approximately 4:45 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's UFC odds around the UFC on ABC 9: Yan vs. McGhee odds, and make our expert UFC picks and predictions. Records: Yan (18-5-0) | McGhee (10-1-0) Yan halted a 3-bout losing skid with a pair of unanimous-decision wins against Song Yadong (May 9, 2024) and Deiveson Figueiredo (Nov. 23, 2024). Since successfully defending his championship belt at UFC 267 (Oct. 30, 2021) against Cory Sandhagen, he suffered a split-decision loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 273 (April 9, 2022) that sent him into the 3-bout tailspin -- which included decision losses to Sean O'Malley (Oct. 22, 2022) and to Merab Dvalishvili (March 11, 2023) The 35-year-old McGhee has won all 4 of his fights since making his UFC debut against Journey Newson in April 2023. He has KO/TKO victories against JP Buys (Aug. 12, 2023) and Gaston Bolanos (Jan. 13, 2024), but he hasn't exactly fought the cream of the crop in the division. Facing the former division champ Yan is a major step up in competition. McGhee enters with a 2-inch reach advantage, while posting a 6.06-to-5.11 advantage in significant strikes landed per minute. Yan is much more accurate on those strikes at 60.30%, while McGhee checks in at just 49.41%, per Yan has a 1.61 takedown average, to just 0.46 for McGhee. Yan is accurate on those takedowns, too, posting a 49.06% mark. Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here. UFC on ABC 9: Yan vs. McGhee odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 7:51 p.m. ET. UFC on ABC 9: Yan vs. McGhee picks and predictions Fight result (2-way line or moneyline) Yan (-350) will cost 3½ times the potential return, which is too much risk for not enough reward. There is never a reason to justify spending so much for such a little return. Let's get a little more specific. Yan has had a penchant for dragging fights out, and doing the technical aspects well, wowing the judges into awarding points and winning rounds. In fact, Yan's past 6 fights have gone the distance, albeit against much, much stronger competition. McGhee could be in above his head against the former champ as he faces a major step up in competition. However, he went the distance in a unanimous decision victory vs. Jonathan Martinez last time out at UFC 309 (Nov. 16, 2024), so, he knows how to hang around. As such, let's roll with YAN BY DECISION/TECHNICAL DECISION (-185) for a much better value, although still slightly on the pricey side. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! Over/Under Yes (-300): "Fight will go the distance" will cost 3 times the potential return. There is no value there, risking so much for such a small return. If you were to toss this into a multi-leg parlay, that would be the only way to justify playing such a heavy favorite line. Again, Yan is good at wowing the judges and scoring points based on certain technical aspects. He is impressive on takedowns, too, and betting YAN: OVER 1.5 TOTAL TAKEDOWNS (-145) is a particularly attractive prop to target. Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis. For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Follow Daniel Dobish on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and us on Facebook.
New York Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
UFC Fight Night predictions: Whittaker vs. de Ridder pick, odds
Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards for more information. The UFC heads to the Middle East once again, this time to Abu Dhabi inside Etihad Arena for a massive fight card. Fresh off the back of an awesome pay-per-view card, fans can put their credit cards away and enjoy some free TV on ABC, beginning at 3 p.m. ET Saturday. Twelve fights are on the docket, with eight of them projected to end inside the distance, according to oddsmakers. Last week was our best betting week of the year thus far, nailing a +880 bet and a +425 wager and nearly sweeping the main card. The insane 5-1 showing on the main card last week profited 18.1 units and nabbed us an insane ROI of 301.67 percent. You don't get that every week, but that might be a career best for me. Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder Whittaker might not get back into the title picture with a win, but they're certainly feeding him to a young lion as he faces former ONE Championship fighter Reinier de Ridder. De Ridder comes in as a +140 underdog Saturday night and is coming off a surprising win over a hyped middleweight prospect in Bo Nickal. In that fight, de Ridder was a +300 underdog and looked like a -1000 favorite. Do we think that this was a case of de Ridder taking advantage of an overhyped prospect? Or was Nickal a worthy opponent that de Ridder proved to be too much for? It's a tough question to answer, but given everything we know, de Ridder is a strong grappler who will have a towering size advantage in the octagon. This fight reminds me of when Whittaker fought Dricus du Plessis, a bigger, stronger athlete, where he sneakily could sneakily have an advantage in the grappling department. For this fight, we're targeting Over 2.5 rounds. Whittaker is a superstar, but not a worthy bet at this price, and would need to get closer to even for me to consider him. Pick: Over 2.5 rounds (-125, BetMGM). Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee Another legend heads into a tough matchup with an underdog as McGhee jumps into the octagon with Yan. Yan, a former bantamweight champion currently No. 3 in the world in the division, per Tapology, deserves some credit for accepting this fight against the No. 12 fighter in the division. This fight is a three rounds, not five, a detail that is critical for Yan. Petr Yan works out for fans and media during the UFC Fight Night Open Workouts at Yas Mall on July 23, 2025 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Zuffa LLC You'll remember that Yan lost his fight to striker Sean O'Malley, which was a three-round bout. Yan's best asset is his cardio, so if he's able to tire his opponent (McGhee has never been five rounds), he will likely come out with a victory. McGhee getting this fight as a three-rounder is a big opportunity for him. The 35-year-old bantamweight is looking to get into the title picture and I like this matchup for him. He's an athletic striker with some ground game chops as well. Take a stab on the underdog in this fight, at least pre-fight. Feel free to look for a Yan live entry during round two if he looks sluggish early. He's a notoriously slow starter, so there's certainly an opportunity to get his price reduced early on in this five-round bout. Pick: McGhee moneyline (+300, Caesars). Get the lowdown on the Best USA Sports Betting Sites and Apps Rest of the card Shara Magomedov vs. Marc-Andre Barriault: Over 1.5 rounds (-160, FanDuel). Asu Almabayev vs. Jose Ochoa: Amabayev Over 27.5 significant strikes (-121); Ochoa Over 46.5 significant strikes (-121, Underdog Fantasy). Nikita Krylov vs. Bogdan Guskov: Over 1.5 rounds (+125, Fanatics Sportsbook). Bryce Mitchell vs. Said Nurmagomedov: Mitchell by submission (+500, DraftKings). Muslim Salikhov vs. Carlos Leal: Pass. Davey Grant vs. Da'Mon Blackshear: Blackshear by submission (+210, ESPN BET). Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci: Ribas by KO/TKO (22/1, Bet365). Ibo Aslan vs. Billy Elekana: Over 1.5 rounds (+100, ESPN BET). Mohammad Yahya vs. Steven Nguyen: Pass. Martin Buday vs. Marcus Buchecha: Buday moneyline (+220, BetMGM).
