Petr Yan took out another legend in his pursuit of UFC gold.
After Henry Cejudo retired, Yan faced former featherweight king Jose Aldo for the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 251 in July 2020 at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Yan took the center of the octagon right off the bat and pumped out his jab to Aldo’s body and head. He cracked the Brazilian with a big overhand right and got his attention early. Aldo landed a big leg kick that dropped Yan and the pair threw cracking shots in the pocket. Yan shucked an Aldo takedown and landed a hard body shot on the ground, which had Aldo badly hurt right before the end of Round 1.
Yan then switched to southpaw and found a home for his straight left. He continued to press the action in Rounds 2 and 3 and his pressure started to take a toll on Aldo, who found himself on the back foot for the majority of Round 4. Yan landed a couple of uppercuts that forced Aldo to shell up and followed them up with a big trip to end the round.
In Round 5, Yan never let his foot off the gas pedal. He quickly dropped Aldo and in the crucifix position, Yan rained down heavy elbows and punches and continued to punish a bloody and battered Aldo until the referee finally stopped the fight.
Yan (15-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) will make his first title defense March 6 when he faces Aljamain Sterling (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) at UFC 259 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Before he faces Sterling, relive Yan’s finish of Aldo in the video above.