This is the UFC 280 live blog for Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley, the featured bantamweight fight on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
It’s been an uphill couple of years for Yan who was until recently considered one of the greatest fighters in the country and someone poised to be a long-reigning champ. After landing an illegal knee on the head, Yan lost his bantamweight title and was disqualified. A few months later, he won an interim title with Cory Sandhagen, but lost to Sterling in their rematch this year. Yan now seeks to be the bantamweight champion with an impressive win over one of the biggest names in the division.
Joining the UFC in 2017 following a tremendous Contender Series performance, O’Malley was quickly pegged as a star on the rise for the UFC, a title he’s lived up to outside of the cage, if not quite inside of it. “Sugar” has amassed a 7-1-1 record during his UFC run and is one of the the most popular fighters in the sport. O’Malley lost to Marlon vera twice and then took a loss against Pedro Munhoz. He now faces the best bantamweights in the world with his title hopes hanging in the balance.
Check out the UFC 280 live blog below.