Henry Sehudo’s decision to put his gloves on the nail after defeating Dominic Cruz at UFC 249 was partly shocking to the MMA community. The 33-year-old athlete was rightfully considered one of the brightest representatives of the light categories in history and the only holder of titles in the lightest and lightest categories. Nevertheless, his departure can have a positive impact on the development of divisions, as well as give a new impetus to the career of Peter Ian.
On paper, the Russian fighter benefited the most from the departure of the American. Yang not only received the status of the first applicant, but also got rid of one of the most dangerous competitors. With all the shortcomings and attempts to choose more convenient rivals for the assertion of one’s own greatness, Sehudo’s skill is beyond doubt. This is evidenced at least by his victories over Demetrius Johnson and Marlon Moraes, as well as striking performances in duels with TJ Dillashaw and Dominic Cruz. Yes, the last two were not remembered by the most logical actions of the referee, who hastened to interrupt the confrontation, but this is a problem of the judges and promotion, and not of the athlete himself.
It is believed that the duel with Sehudo would not be an easy walk for Jan. The American surpasses all former opponents of the Russian in both shock and wrestling techniques and would certainly become a serious opponent for him. Surely, Peter himself understood this, although he did not hesitate to talk about superiority over the Olympic champion. But it was rather an attempt to attract attention with a bright thrash current (moreover, it was fully justified taking into account successes and growing popularity), and not a real assessment of the situation.
As UFC President Dana White said, Ian is guaranteed to be the next contender for the title, the only question is who will try to prevent him from becoming the best. Among the other candidates for the title stand out Algemein Sterling and Marlon Moraes. The first of them has a series of four consecutive wins and takes the second line of the category rating. The second - most recently, he fought with Sehudo for the vacant title and settled down in first place. In addition, it was the Brazilian who was supposed to meet with the Russian at the first ever UFC tournament in Kazakhstan, but the event was subsequently canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It is possible that the matchmakers will not change their original plans and will have a fight between Jan and Moraes, with the exception that the rank of the first challenger will not be at stake, but the championship belt itself. Such a decision is unlikely to raise questions from fans and experts, because both are rightfully at the top of the rating. The only question is whether Marlon will be able to get to the United States, because earlier, because of the pandemic, his compatriot Jose Aldo could not do this, who was to fight with Sehudo at UFC 249.
As for Sterling, it is still difficult to assess his chances of a battle with Ian. Despite the fact that he actively behaves on social networks and declares his desire to measure his strength with a Russian, he may be prevented by a wrist injury. Algemein has been trying to recover from damage for a long time and still cannot get the optimal shape. Shortly before the cancellation of UFC tournaments, he talked with MMA Junkie and admitted that he recovered only 70%. Given the fact that the operation was performed at the end of September 2019, rehabilitation is rather slow.
Thus, the UFC is at great risk by relying on Sterling. Despite an impressive track record, he has not entered the octagon since June 2019. In this regard, it is difficult to assess in what form the American is. Therefore, it would be much more logical to give the right to fight with Jan the same Moraes or Aldo, in which the promotion saw the enemy for Sehudo.
It is noteworthy that even after leaving sports, Henry does not intend to leave the information field and is trying to influence the situation in the division. So, the ex-champion suggested holding a mini-tournament among the four strongest fighters, according to the results of which the owner of the belt should be determined. Sehudo also reiterated that, in his opinion, Ian had not yet earned the right to fight for the title.
Given the current situation in the division, such statements by the ex-champion seem rash. Jan has the longest winning streak among the five strongest fighterweight champions, which has six fights. By this indicator, only Corey Sandhagen can compete with him, but on his track record there is one less success.
As for the general level of rivals, here you can agree with Sehudo, because at the time of the battle, none of Yan's counterparts had the status of a top fighter. To their number one can refer Faber with a stretch, but exclusively for past merits. Nevertheless, neither Sterling nor Sandhagen can win over the stars, and Henry himself, on the way to the champion flyweight fight, only once met with a representative of the top three rating. So, before the first duel with Johnson, he prevailed over Jussier Formiguy. But the fact that by that time the Brazilian lost in two of the last six battles spoils the impression of this a little.
At the same time, Sehudo’s second campaign for the status of the first applicant was much easier. To do this, he only had two victories - over Wilson Reis and Sergio Pettis. Although then they were located on the fourth or fifth lines, but they were below Henry himself. And after the lapse of time, one can safely say that both stood out only against the background of an extremely small and uncompetitive flyweight.
In light of all this, Sehudo’s proposal is at least unfounded. Ian deserves the right to fight for the title now - without holding any semblance of a tournament. The UFC only needs to provide the Russians with the opportunity to speak at the tournament and choose a worthy opponent, rather than the next passing middle peasant.
Taking into account the working capacity and the standard schedule of Peter's speeches, we can safely assume that before the end of 2020 he will have time to enter the cage at least twice. If successful in a title fight, he may well hold the first defense in the winter, and then proceed to prepare for one of the most important duels in his career. In January 2021, the disqualification for doping of former champion TJ Dillashaw will end, and the UFC will probably want to organize a superboy between an American and a Russian.
Apart from Dillashaw, Ian's other competitors seem vulnerable. Moraes has already shown that he is experiencing serious problems if he is under constant pressure in the cell, and Sterling has not been able to fully realize his talent over the past few years. As evidence of this, a sensational loss to Brian Carraway, failure in the battle with Rafael Assunsao and early defeat in the battle with Marlon himself.
In this situation, one of the most dangerous opponents can be considered lanky by the standards of the category and quite versatile Sandhagen, but there are problems in his style of warfare. This was perfectly demonstrated by 160-centimeter John Lineker, who repeatedly found Corey's jaw and yielded only by a separate decision of the judges. And this despite the difference in growth of 20 centimeters.
Thus, the winner of the UFC 6 tournament, Oleg Taktarov, may turn out to be right, and Jan will become the main star of the category for a long time. Given the age, he will be able to keep the belt for the next two to three years. True, Peter's transition to another category is still unlikely. At lightweight, it will be difficult for him to compete with opponents superior to him in anthropometry, and to drive to the lightest can be too difficult for the body.