Russian bantamweight star Petr Yan extended his prolific run in the UFC with his fifth straight win in the space of a year as he defeated American contender Jimmie Rivera at UFC 238 in Chicago.
Yan delivered a composed performance and dropped Rivera at the end of each of the first two rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory on the scorecards to extend his record to 13-1 and move one step closer to a title shot.
Rivera started well in the opening round, but Yan found his range in the final 30 seconds as he dropped the American with a perfectly-timed left hook.
Rivera survived the round and appeared to be back to his best in the second round, but a huge knee from Yan landed flush, leaving him cut and bloodied. And when Yan dropped Rivera for a second time at the end of the round, it left Rivera needing a stoppage to turn the fight around in the third.
But despite the American's doggedly determined approach to the final frame, Yan used his footwork and boxing skills to keep Rivera at bay as he earned scores of 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 on the judges' scorecards.
Addressing the crowd in English, Yan called for a shot at the UFC bantamweight title in his next fight.
"Hello Chicago! I want my next fight to be a title shot!" he declared.
And through his manager and translator Sayat Abdrakhmanov, he said: "Jimmie's a strong, good fighter. I knew he was a tough guy, but I was going to keep going forward, no matter what."
Switching back to English to make his final point, he sent a message to the two men in action in the night's world title main event.
"Moraes! Cejudo! I want the fight. Title shot!"
Source : RT - Daily news
'I want the title shot!' Petr Yan demands title fight after defeating Jimmie Rivera at UFC 238
'I want the title shot!' Petr Yan demands title fight after defeating Jimmie Rivera at UFC 238
