Petr Yan

Early life and master of sport in boxing

Yan was born to a father of mixed Chinese (paternal) and Georgian-Russian (maternal) descent and a Russian mother. In sixth grade, Yan began training in ITF taekwondo and often fought in the streets and at the school in his area, so his family often moved to try and prevent this. Yan's older brother trained in boxing in the city of Dudinka, Krasnoyarsk Krai, and Petr wanted to learn how to box too. But his elder brother initially refused to take Petr along with him, so Petr decided to sneak and follow his brother to go to learn the sport. From then on, Petr went on to train in boxing for 8 years and achieved the rank of Master of Sport in boxing in the 64 kg weight category. Yan graduated from the Siberian Federal University in the city of Krasnoyarsk with a degree in Physical Culture and Sport.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Yan debuted in MMA at the Eurasian Fighting Championship - Baikal Fight in December 2014. He won via third-round knockout over Murad Bakiev, who was also a debutant. In 2015, Yan signed a contract with the Russian promotion Absolute Championship Berkut. He was said to have gained many fans after his debut with the promotion where he fought Brazilian fighter Renato Velame, who at the time, already had 26 fights in his MMA career. However, Yan won this fight by decision. In Yan's third fight, he fought and beat Kharon Orzumiev by first-round submission in just 47 seconds. In his following fight, Yan knocked out Artur Mirzakhanyan in the first round which was held at Professional Fight Night 10: Russia Cup.

Absolute Championship Berkut

On 24 October 2015, Yan faced Murad Kalamov and won the fight by unanimous decision. The win granted Yan the opportunity to fight Magomed Magomedov for the championship belt in the bantamweight division.

Yan lost his first fight when he faced Magomed Magomedov on 26 March 2016 in Moscow at ACB 32: "The Battle of Lions". After going all five rounds, Magomedov won the fight by split decision and won the title at bantamweight; however, many felt that Yan had won the fight, including ACB president, Mairbek Khasiev who promised to book a rematch. Although Yan lost, this fight was voted as ACB's best fight of the year in 2016.

Following his first professional loss, Yan returned to face English mixed martial artist Ed Arthur at ACB 41: Path to Triumph, in Sochi. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

In the spring of 2017, Yan was scheduled to have a rematch with Magomed Magomedov on 15 April at ACB 57: Payback in Moscow. This time, Yan exacted revenge and defeated Magomedov by unanimous decision after fighting all five hard-fought rounds. He won the decision and ultimately was crowned the ACB bantamweight champion.

Following his win, Yan returned in September 2017 to fight Brazilian contender Matheus Mattos at ACB: 71 in Moscow. After winning the first two rounds, Yan caught Mattos with a left uppercut which caused Mattos to fall to his back, making the referee stop the fight. He successfully defended his bantamweight title by third-round knockout.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Following his first title defense, Yan signed a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in January 2018.

Yan made his promotional debut against Teruto Ishihara on 23 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night 132. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round.

Yan was briefly scheduled to face top-14 UFC rankings Douglas Silva de Andrade on 15 September 2018 at the UFC Fight Night 136. However, Andrade pulled out of the fight on 9 August citing a foot injury, and he was replaced by Jin Soo Son. At weigh-ins, Son weighed one pound over the bantamweight non-title fight limit of 136 pounds and he was fined 20 percent of his purse to Yan. Yan won the fight by unanimous decision. This win earned him the Fight of the Night award.

A bantamweight bout was rescheduled between Yan and Douglas Silva de Andrade for UFC 232 on 29 December 2018. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two after de Andrade's corner stopped the fight.

On 10 January 2019, Yan revealed on social media that he had signed a new, four-fight contract with the UFC. Yan faced John Dodson on 23 February 2019 at UFC Fight Night 145. Yan won the fight by unanimous decision, after landing hard punches and kicks whilst Dodson's back was against the cage.

Despite his previous, few months old contract, Yan signed a new six-fight contract which was offered to him immediately after his win against Dodson.

Yan faced Jimmie Rivera on 8 June 2019 at UFC 238. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

On 26 June, it was reported that Yan had to undergo surgery due to synovitis in his left elbow.

Yan faced Urijah Faber on 14 December 2019 at UFC 245. After largely dominating the striking exchanges and knocking Faber down in the second round, Yan ultimately won the fight via knockout in the third round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Fighting style

Yan is primarily a switch-stance striker whose game is built around compact boxing, pressure footwork and a layered high guard. He holds the rank of Master of Sport in boxing and a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, while his professional style is generally associated with precision striking, diverse offense and strong cardio. Rather than relying only on constant output, Yan often builds his offense through patient reads, small steps, stance changes and hand fighting, using these tools to close space, limit exits and force opponents to reset before attacking with combinations or counters.

A central feature of Yan's defense is his high guard, which he combines with upper-body movement, subtle pivots and counterpunching. This allows him to stay close enough to answer after blocking or parrying strikes, while still advancing behind measured pressure. His ringcraft is also based on controlling the opponent's movement: he uses short advances instead of wide chases, cuts off angles near the fence and fires when opponents pause, reset or try to turn out of exchanges.

Although boxing is the base of his stand-up game, Yan also incorporates kicks, knees, elbows and clinch strikes. At close range, he mixes body-head punching combinations with dirty boxing, collar ties, wrist control, knees and elbows, and he is especially effective when striking on the break.

In grappling exchanges, Yan is not primarily a submission-oriented fighter, but his wrestling is an important part of his overall game. He uses trips, throws and mat returns from clinch positions, often after catching kicks or gaining body-lock control, and his defensive wrestling relies heavily on balance, hand fighting and forearm frames while sprawling or working along the fence. CBS Sports lists his takedown defense at 86%, alongside a takedown average of 1.7 per 15 minutes.

Personal life

Yan is an Orthodox Christian, he and his wife have two sons. During Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Yan posted an image on social media of the countries' flags and a dove of peace.. Yan was also awarded the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (Order II) on April 22nd, 2026.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC Bantamweight Championship (Two times, current)

Interim UFC Bantamweight Championship (One time)

Fight of the Night (Four times) vs. Jin Soo Son, Cory Sandhagen, Sean O'Malley & Merab Dvalishvili 2

Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Urijah Faber

Tied (Raphael Assunção & Renan Barão) for the fourth longest win streak in UFC Bantamweight division history (7)

Tied (Cody Garbrandt) for third most knockdowns in UFC Bantamweight division history (10)

Most significant strikes landed in UFC Bantamweight division history (1456)

Third most total fight time in UFC Bantamweight division history (4:42:04)

Second most total strikes landed in UFC Bantamweight division history (1917)

Third longest average fight time in UFC Bantamweight division history (17:38)

Tied (Raphael Assunção, Sean O'Malley & Mario Bautista) for fifth most wins in UFC Bantamweight division history (12)

Third most decision wins in UFC Bantamweight division history (8)

Tied (Aljamain Sterling & Raul Rosas Jr.) for fifth most takedowns landed in UFC Bantamweight division history (32)