Former titleholders Petr Yan, Deiveson Figueiredo meet in key clash in Macau

While most of the western world is tucked snuggly in bed in the early morning hours of Saturday, the few, the brave, the diehard fight fans will be stationed in front of their screens taking in a surprisingly fun UFC Fight Night event from Galaxy Arena in Macau, China.

Kicking off with a collection of preliminary card bouts that include the Road to UFC Season 3 tournament finals and the debut of a promising flyweight graduate from Dana White’s Contender Series, the main card is quite robust for an event of this nature, featuring a pair of critical bouts between ranked opponents, the sophomore efforts from two promising Chinese prospects, and a main event that delivers fans a fight they have been yearning to see for close to a year now.

This weekend’s card marks the seventh trip to China for the UFC — the first since venturing to Shenzen in August 2019, where Zhang Weili defeated Jessica Andrade to rise to the top of the women’s strawweight division for the first time — and the fourth venture to Macau, but the first since making a pair of trips to the “Las Vegas of the East” in 2014.

It promises to be an action-packed event in the dead of the North American night this weekend, and we’ve got all the details on which fights stand out and which emerging talents to track.

BANTAMWEIGHT BANGER WITH BIG STAKES

Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo meet in the main event this weekend in a fight that fans have honestly been longing to see happen since the former flyweight champion moved up to the 135-pound ranks last year.

The 36-year-old Figueiredo has re-invented himself since relocating to bantamweight, trading the aggression and heavy hands that were his signature during his flyweight days for more of a grappling-heavy approach, and it has paid dividends. “Deus da Guerra” has collected three wins in as many starts, sandwiching a second-round submission finish of Cody Garbrandt at UFC 300 between decision victories over Rob Font and Marlon Vera to climb to No. 5 in the divisional rankings.

It’s a smart shift in approach for the older but still game Brazilian as he no longer has the power advantage he often carried at flyweight, and his wrestling and grappling — which weren’t a big part of his arsenal at 125 pounds — are strong, and still catching people by surprise it seems.

After losing three straight and four out of five beginning with his ill-advised knee to the head of Aljamain Sterling all the way back at UFC 259, Yan finally got things moving in the right direction again in February, out-hustling Song Yadong in a competitive, but not that competitive scrap at UFC 299.

The bout served as a reminder that the 31-year-old Russian remains in the championship class in the division, even if the results hadn’t been there of late. It almost felt as though Yan was suffering from a little of the same thing Brandon Moreno dealt with after back-to-back split decision losses prompted him to take a step back earlier this year before returning in Edmonton, only Yan tried to keep pushing through, ran afoul of Merab Dvalishvili and caught a third straight setback.

He was back to his old self against Song, growing into the three-round fight — his first since UFC 245 against Urijah Faber — and showed the varied skill set that helped carry him to the top of the division in the first place. While most went into the fight believing Yan was still a contender, it was a pleasant confirmation of that fact, one that put him in a position to lock up with Figueiredo in a critical matchup this weekend.

As of right now, Dvalishvili has yet to book his first title defence, and while most assumed it would come against Umar Nurmagomedov, the unbeaten Russian prospect had reportedly been booked to fight Song in Tampa next month before “The Kung Fu Kid” suffered an injury and the rumoured bout went by the boards.

Sean O’Malley is stationed as the No. 1 contender in the rankings, but he’s on the mend, and so there is an outside chance that the winner of this one could hustle their way into a championship opportunity, especially if it’s Figueiredo who emerges victorious. He’s the man Dvalishvili lobbied to fight after wrestling the title away from O’Malley at Noche UFC in September, and if he turns back Yan, his case will be solid.

It might be a little more difficult to book the former champion into a rematch with the new titleholder, given that their first meeting took place less than two years ago and was as one-sided as most of Dvalishvili’s fights have been of late. However if Yan goes out and makes a statement in Macau and calls out the champ, that could end up being a fight we see for a second time in 2025.

CRITICAL BOUTS FOR FOUR CONTENDERS

The co-main event marks the return of Yan Xiaonan, who fights for the first time since coming up short in her bid to claim the strawweight title at UFC 300 in a bout with ascending grappler Tabatha Ricci.

Everyone remembers the final outcome of Xiaonan’s clash with her compatriot Zhang Weili, but it’s crucial to keep in mind that things were far more competitive than the final 49-45 scores across the board suggest. The challenger pushed the champion at times, seemingly turning the tables on Zhang in the third, only to have the steely titleholder rally back herself and salt away the victory in the final stanza.

This is a massive returning bout for Xiaonan, who fights in her home country for the first time since 2018, as a new wave of talent is pushing forward in the 115-pound ranks, and she needs a victory here to secure her place amongst the top contenders in the division.

Ricci has shown improvement each time out during the course of her seven-fight strawweight career in the UFC, posting a 6-1 record with her lone setback coming by split decision in a competitive clash with Mexican-Canadian Loopy Godinez at UFC 295 last November. “Baby Shark” has bounced back from that loss with consecutive decision wins over Tecia Pennington (split, debated) and Angela Hill (unanimous, clear) and has the grappling skills and speed to be a menace for anyone she shares the Octagon with at this point of her career.

This is a step up in competition for Ricci, but she also feels like a fighter trending upwards, so it will be interesting to see how the charismatic 29-year-old contends with competing on the road this weekend.

Also on the main card, veteran light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir will face off with streaking finisher Carlos Ulberg in a fascinating pairing that deserves attention.

Oezdemir is what you would call “an experienced hand” in professional wrestling parlance — a tenured talent that has been around the block a time or two, can work in the mid-card title picture and maybe the championship mix if needed, but also serve as the perfect opponent to put an up-and-comer over and make them look good if that’s the job they’re assigned.

Now, MMA is not professional wrestling, so he won’t be looking to put anyone over this weekend. Instead, he’ll be looking to build on his own two-fight winning streak as he stands in opposite Ulberg.

Since losing his promotional debut in March 2021, the 34-year-old Ulberg has rattled off six straight victories, earning finishes in each of his last five.

While he still can be wild at times — see his 12-second knockout of Alonzo Menifield in May — the City Kickboxing man has clearly grown in terms of understanding how to deploy his considerable striking weapons inside the Octagon over the course of this UFC tenure. His kicks have always been heavy and dangerous, but he’s worked in more jabs and patience from range, and even threw in a submission win two fights back, just to keep opponents honest.

Although few would consider the winner of this one “in the mix” at 205 pounds, the combination of Alex Pereira’s dominance and the lack of ascending contenders present in the division at the moment ups the ante on this one a little more. Someone is walking away with a victory over a top-10 opponent and another tick in the win column, and regardless of who it is, it will be enough to make them an interesting name to track as we try to figure out what comes next in the weight class.

PROSPECTS TO WATCH

Wang Cong: The 32-year-old flyweight earned a submission win in a non-tournament Road to UFC bout earlier this year that landed her a place on the roster, and then she sparked out Victoria Leonardo in 62 seconds to win her debut.

While she’s just 6-0 in MMA, Cong has experience across a gamut of martial arts and holds a kickboxing win over champ Valentina Shevchenko. She’s paired off with Gabriella Fernandes this weekend in a bout that should be another showcase opportunity, but if she gets through this one as anticipated, expect a sharp step up in competition for the Chinese divisional dark horse.

Zhang Mingyang: after stopping Brendson Ribeiro in his promotional debut in February, Zhang returns home for his sophomore appearance, facing off with former LFA middleweight champ Ozzy Diaz in the opening bout of Saturday’s main card.

The 26-year-old “Mountain Tiger” has already logged 23 appearances, posting 17 victories, and enters on a 10-fight winning streak, having earned stoppages in each of those contest. His upside is likely that of a fun slugger in the middle of the light heavyweight ranks, but in a division where a handful of wins gets you a number next to your name, he’s worth keeping an eye on for now.

Lone’er Kavanagh: One of the best prospects to emerge from Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Kavanagh makes his promotional debut against fellow unbeaten flyweight Jose Ochoa in what is arguably the best bout on the card outside of the big three already mentioned above.

Fighting out of Great Britain Top Team, Kavanagh is 25, perfect in seven starts, and someone that fought a good slate on his way to the UFC, which means he should be able to transition seamlessly into the thick of the 125-pound weight class. While we’ve said that about other Cage Warriors standouts in the past and been wrong (cough Jake Hadley cough), Kavanagh profiles as one of the better talents to come out of the promotion in recent years, and gets the chance to start validating that advanced billing this weekend.