Petr Yan became one of the main losers of the UFC 280 tournament. In Abu Dhabi, the former bantamweight champion lost to Sean O'Malley and suffered two defeats in a row for the first time in his career, missing the opportunity to claim the title for the third time.
And although the Russian still retains a place in the division's elite, his future seems bleak.
Although he lost by a highly controversial judicial decision, he once again demonstrated his weaknesses and in many ways ceased to be perceived as the unproclaimed king of the category.
In fact, the fight with O'Malley once again made me talk about Jan's serious problems with the defense, which were visible to the naked eye a year ago.
Then he also met with a noticeably larger opponent and missed much more.
In five rounds, Corey Sandhagen brought 169 significant hits to the target, while Peter scored only 149 hits.
Yes, the Russian’s attacks were much more powerful, which subsequently allowed him to knock down his opponent and confidently take the upper hand by unanimous decision of the judges (49:46), but even then it became clear that a better boxer could create serious difficulties for him.
And Sean confirmed it.
In the second round, he noticeably shook him, and in the third he almost knocked him down and thereby impressed the jury.
However, the main conclusion of the bantamweight eliminator is different.
Even despite the huge number of missed strikes, Ian still looked no worse, and even better than O'Malley.
His drive, unbending character and versatility allowed him to dominate the cage most of the time and get out of the most difficult situations.
Being in a state of groggy, he did not stop fighting and instantly seized the initiative.
But all this again did not help him win over the judges to his side.
And in this case, we can talk about a peculiar trend.
Since 2018, Yan has fought 11 fights in the UFC and in six cases they have lasted all the scheduled rounds.
In four of them, the Russian was stronger, but only once did he not lose a single five-minute round on the cards of all three referees.
In February 2019, he rolled over the American John Dodson and left no choice but to recognize him as a triumph - 30:27.
In the remaining fights, everything was not so clear.
Even in a duel with the South Korean Jin Soo Son, he lost one segment, according to one of the judges, and Jimmy Rivera completely won with a minimal advantage (29:28).
And this despite the fact that he sent the opponent down twice and was noted for a successful pass to the legs.
By and large, the Rivera fight showed the possible consequences for Yan if he didn't work on his defense.
Then the American also surpassed him in significant hits (73:56) and "stole" the third round - even if this did not affect the final result.
But if then the superiority of Peter was overwhelming, then in the confrontation with O'Malley there was no talk of such dominance.
So the jury had a reason to support the super-popular rising star of mixed martial arts and help him quickly break into the top.
All this suggests that Jan's fighting style, although admired by the fans, does not always have the same impression on the judges.
Adhering to a too straightforward and overly attacking style entails problems in defense, and this subsequently affects the verdicts.
Therefore, in the future, the repetition of such a situation is not ruled out.
The abundance of missed blows again can give the referees a reason to take the side of the Russian opponent, and in this case it will depend only on them whether Peter’s new ascent to the top will begin or his fall will continue.
At the moment, Yan has three defeats in his last four fights.
As early as next week, he may lose not only his place in the Pound-for-Pound ranking, but also the first line in the list of the strongest representatives of the lightest category (although this is unlikely, given the fiasco of TJ Dillashaw).
One way or another, O'Malley's loss will seriously affect Peter's prospects.
If before the show in Abu Dhabi he was one step away from the status of a contender for the trophy, now the distance has increased significantly.
In a good way, Jan should have had a warm-up fight in order to regain some self-confidence and feel the taste of victory again.
The problem is that in the bantamweight division crowded with talented fighters, it is practically impossible to meet passing opponents.
In addition to the Russian, the top 5 includes the same Dillashaw and Sandhagen, as well as Merab Dvalishvili and Marlon Vera.
But TJ suffered a shoulder injury in a duel with Sterling and is unlikely to return to action in the near future, and he has already won Corey.
The other two are very strong.
For wrestling qualities, the Georgian has long been compared with Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the Venezuelan is no less dangerous in the stance than O'Malley.
Against their background, Rob Font, Dominick Cruz and Pedro Munoz do not look so impressive, but in this case, the promotion itself may not be interested in organizing the fight.
Unlike boxing, in the UFC, battles that do not have a sports component are held much less frequently, and athletes who are in decline are not given the opportunity to “set a record” against weaker opponents.
Therefore, Jan, most likely, is waiting for another difficult test, in which it will be extremely difficult for him to succeed.
At least when it comes to winning by decision.
One way or another, the next fight promises to be a turning point in Jan's career.
If a year and a half ago he was considered as the king of the division for many years, now this is out of the question.
It has not been possible to finish the opponents for more than two years, and recently it has not been possible to impress the judges either.
All this suggests that Peter needs a reboot.
Perhaps he should not rush into the next entry into the cage, but take a short break and work on his weaknesses.
Perhaps the right decision would be to temporarily leave the Tiger Muay Thai gym and work under the guidance of other specialists.
It is possible that he has reached his ceiling in the current team, and a change of scenery is necessary to move to another level.
It doesn't matter who the matchmakers put against him next time - Vera or Dvalishvili, a lot will be at stake.
The defeat can not only finally break the former champion, but also force the management to consider him as a gatekeeper.
Then he risks repeating the fate of Alexander Volkov.
Let him never reach such heights, but twice he was a step away from the status of the applicant, but in both cases he failed.
As a result, the Russian has not been thinking about a new campaign for a trophy for a long time, but only thins out the crowd of his potential applicants.
Yana is unlikely to be satisfied with this state of affairs.