“Brother, good luck to you! I’m sure you’ll win, but still, I wish you good luck! You seem to have a very difficult opponent, but you just have to fight smart and take advantage of the situation,” the Russian-American boxer said, addressing the Russian.
Last March, 31-year-old Petr Yan suffered his third straight defeat, losing by unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili after five rounds. The Russian will try to get his career back on track on March 9 at UFC 299 in Miami, facing China’s Song Yadong.
Petr Yan and Song Yadong are currently ranked fourth and seventh in the UFC’s lightweight division rankings, respectively.