As someone who climbed the ranks to get a shot at the belt, Petr Yan does not view Marlon Vera as a true title contender.
Nevertheless, Vera will step inside the Octagon this Saturday night to challenge Sean O’Malley for the bantamweight belt. The bout headlines UFC 299 live from Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Yan will himself be in action this weekend vs. Song Yadong. That should present him with an up-close look at the main event.
“I think Marlon Vera got a gift,” Yan said during media day (thanks to MMA Junkie for the quotes). “He was gifted a title shot because he lost to Cory Sandhagen. It’s not up to me who’s the title challenger. But I’m seriously in the mood to get back in the title race.
“Sean just picked a contender he could beat. He doesn’t believe he can beat any other top contenders in the division. And just to remind everyone, he got a title shot because he got gifted a decision against me.”
Petr Yan Knows Path To Title Fight
Yan, a former champion who won the belt with a finish of Jose Aldo in 2020, lost via split decision to O’Malley in 2022. He is also coming off a decision defeat to Merab Dvalishvili.
O’Malley, of course, is seeking revenge along with his first title defense. In 2020 at UFC 252, Vera scored a TKO victory to hand him his first and only career defeat.
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