Bantamweight contender Petr Yan is in a tough spot at the moment. Despite being the former UFC bantamweight champion, he is on the first losing streak of his career. Yan is 0-3 in his most recent fights and he last won a fight back in 2021 against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267.
However, it isn’t like he was dominated in all of these fights. In fact, these fights were extremely close and could have gone Petr’s way, especially the Sean O’Malley fight. Owing to this, the narrative of Petr Yan being robbed emerged in late 2022 and it is seemingly here to stay.
25 minutes of straight dominance by @MerabDvalishvil! #UFCLasVegas pic.twitter.com/dWqIze98Tx
— UFC (@ufc) March 12, 2023
However, Yan himself may not be in the UFC for long. After his loss to Suga, “No Mercy” tweeted, “F**k the judges”, and fans were worried that he would leave the UFC after Daniel Cormier’s revelations on the DC & RC show.
“Petr Yan is so disappointed in the decision against Aljo that I’m hearing word that this guy may want to look at something different down the line in terms of his career,” said DC. And fans immediately worried that Yan may leave the UFC after this alleged “robbery”. However, this worry may come to fruition after the events of UFC Las Vegas.
Fans worried that Petr Yan may leave the UFC after 3rd consecutive loss
Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili went the distance at UFC Las Vegas on Saturday. Merab edged out a unanimous decision victory against Yan. Merab set a new UFC record for takedowns attempted with 49 attempts in 25 minutes.
Yan stuffed several takedowns but ultimately, Merab’s cardio and pressure were too much for him. Being his 3rd consecutive loss and 4th in the UFC, many fans wonder about Petr’s status as a contender at bantamweight.
Petr Yan is fucking cooked as a contender man. Needs to leave the UFC if he wants to make more money in a lesser org actually having title fights. Division is going to pass him up even more soon.
— ⚡️Justins Middle Finger⚡️ (@BoltGang559) March 12, 2023
Petr Yan is the most unluckiest fighter ever . Won last 3 fights but is 0-3 . Now UFC gave him a guy who has no ground game , mid striking , and all he does is shoot . Yeah I would leave to Bellator .
— SU 🥋 (@Nolimitsu_) March 12, 2023
What's next for Petr Yan? Y'all think he's gonna maybe leave the UFC? #UFCLasVegas
— CAI (@305CAI) March 12, 2023
Not all fans were equally concerned about Yan’s status as a UFC fighter after this loss. In a callous display, many fans called for Yan’s retirement after the loss to Merab. Some were even doing this before the fight even began.
https://twitter.com/tonyselbow1/status/1634737309315739648?s=20
https://twitter.com/LimonNarco/status/1634736415668838400?s=20
Petr Yan please retire, you are NOT that guy unfortunately
— West0031 (@West128482) March 12, 2023
Many fans were upset with the circumstances that led to Yan reaching this stage. After all, he would be 2-2 in his last 4 fights if some of the scorecards went his way. However, this has become something of a trend in recent times with dissenting opinions between fans and judges leading to robbery claims.
UFC 282 is the worst offender as the main event and co-main event’s scores were baffling to fans. Almost everyone in the MMA community agreed that Jared Gordon and Magomed Ankalaev should have won at UFC 282. Unfortunately, there is no remedy to this situation currently but Yan actually leaving may open the UFC’s eyes to this problem.