Two defeats in a row to Algemain Sterling set Petr Yan back a couple of years and forced him to re-blaze the path to the title.

Even though he now ranks first in the ranking of the lightest division, he is not a contender for the belt.

Even at the end of the UFC 273 tournament, it became clear that in the near future you should not expect a third fight between the Russian and the American, and later this was confirmed by the manager of the former champion Sayat Abdrakhmanov.

“Soon there will be a fight between Rob Font and Marlon Vera - the winner of this pair is a possible opponent.

That Dominic Cruz...

These, I think, are the most likely opponents both in terms of timing and rating, ”Abdrakhmanov outlined the circle of his potential opponents in an interview with the Vestnik MMA YouTube channel.

At the same time, many expected to see a duel between Jan and Merab Dvalishvili, a sparring partner and friend of Sterling, who confronted Peter before the show.

Moreover, the Russian himself provoked it when he spoke rather harshly about the American's teammates at a press conference.

“You saw him on the team with a realtor and another redhead who just talks a lot and that’s it,” Ian said, alluding to Al Iaquinta and Dvalishvili.

But then both the Georgian fighter himself and the manager of the Russian admitted that now the organization of a face-to-face fight is not included in the plans of the parties.

Merab did not rule out their meeting in the future, but stressed that at this stage, neither he nor the UFC matchmakers are interested in it at all.

Abdrakhmanov also agreed with him, although he explained it a little differently.

“As for Merab Dvalishvili, this is definitely not now - we are a little tired of their team, we want some new confrontation.

This fight is absolutely not interesting now, ”Abdrakhmanov said.

On the one hand, Jan can be understood.

It is impossible to say unequivocally whether Sterling managed to get into his head or not, but he took away enough moral strength.

And so he hardly wants to go through it again.

Considering the kind of statements Algemain allowed himself after winning by disqualification, it is easy to imagine that after a fairly won fight, the rhetoric will not change at all.

Peter will again become the object of ridicule and mockery not only from the former enemy, but also from Merab himself.

And it is unlikely that it will benefit him before such an important fight.

But there is another side of the coin.

Dvalishvili is not only a principled opponent who has personal scores with Jan.

He is also extremely awkward stylistically and is able to do the same thing to him that Sterling did in the second and third rounds.

Merab is strong in grappling, and even surpasses his teammate in wrestling.

It is he who holds the record for the lightest category in terms of the number of takedowns (50).

At the same time, in terms of the percentage of control in the stalls, he ranks fourth (41.7%), and in terms of total time - fifth (47 minutes 40 seconds).

Above him, only Kung Ho Kang, TJ Dillashaw, Rani Yahia and the same Aljamein settled down.

At the same time, the Georgian had nine fights in the UFC, the South Korean - ten, and the rest - at least 16.

In addition, Dvalishvili personally helped Sterling prepare for battles with Jan and probably thoroughly studied his style of fighting.

Yes, and Algemain himself would help with advice.

At the moment, he is better than most aware of Peter's strengths and weaknesses, which would also become an extra trump card in the sleeve of his sparring partner.

Against the background of Merab, the above fighters seem to be a much easier test for Jan.

Almost all of them prefer to work in the rack, where the Russian has practically no equal.

This is confirmed by the fights with Jose Aldo and Corey Sandhagen - one of the main specialists in striking technology in the division up to 61.2 kilograms.

Although not immediately, but Peter picked up the keys to both one and the second, after which he arranged a uniform beating.

As a result, although he lost to the American in terms of the number of hits (149:169), he attacked much more sharply, thanks to which he knocked him down, and completely “destroyed” the Brazilian.

The former featherweight champion lost early and not only hit the floor, but also missed twice as many punches as he landed (83:194).

Let him take the lion's share of them in the stalls.

It is noteworthy that both Font and Vera lost to Aldo not so long ago - the first was beaten in December 2021, and the second a year earlier.

But it cannot be said that since that moment the Ecuadorian has become noticeably better.

Yes, he won two victories, but over whom?

First, by unanimous decision, he defeated the middle peasant Davey Grant, and then spectacularly knocked out the legendary, but Frankie Edgar, who was on the decline.

For the 40-year-old American, this defeat was the second in a row and the fourth in the last five battles.

One of the brightest lines in Marlon's resume remains the victory over Sean O'Malley, a top prospect and one of the most talked about UFC fighters in recent years.

As for Cruise, his best years are also behind him.

Unlike Edgar, he continues to keep a high level and goes on a winning streak of two fights, but his opponents were not the strongest either.

Casey Kenny is not even in the top 15 category, and Pedro Munoz is the same veteran, but with a much less serious track record.

Cruz can't be denied that, even at 37, he continues to be one of the best defensive fighters with phenomenal footwork.

But over the years, it is no longer enough for all five rounds, and the speed has noticeably dropped.

In the early 2010s, he would have been able to dodge Yang's attacks for the entire 25 minutes, cleverly combining this with passes to the legs.

But in its current state, it is unlikely to be enough for three full segments.

So why should Jan fight one of the above opponents?

First of all, to regain self-confidence, which he could very well have lost after his second consecutive loss to Sterling.

Defeating Vera or Font will not be a serious addition to his resume - he has already defeated more stellar opponents before.

And while Cruz's win is relatively valuable, it's not like it was in 2011.

However, Peter has no other options.

A rematch with Aldo or Sandhagen does not make sense yet, and the ground is not ready for a potentially bright duel with Sean O'Malley.

The American takes only 13th place in the ranking and does not deserve a fight with the division leader.