UFC President Dana White announced that Petr Yan will be taking on former champion José Aldo for the vacant bantamweight title at a date and location that has yet to be announced.
"My people are probably going to kill me for this one…"@danawhite spilled the beans on trying to put together @PetrYanUFC vs. @josealdojunior for the vacant UFC bantamweight title 😏 (via @SportsCenter) pic.twitter.com/AIcd3lLIlD
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 27, 2020
The UFC is officially moving forward with the bantamweight title following the retirement of former champion Henry Cejudo. In an appearance on SportsCenter on Wednesday afternoon, UFC President Dana White announced that the promotion will have Russian prospect Petr Yan take on longtime former featherweight champion José Aldo for the vacant bantamweight title, at a date that has yet to be announced.
Petr “No Mercy” Yan (14-1) goes into the bout on a nine fight win-streak that has seen him become one of the top contenders in the UFC’s bantamweight division. A former champion in Russia’s Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) promotion, Yan entered the UFC in 2018 and quickly put together a 6-0 record. Fighting out of Kings MMA in California, Yan rose to title contention with victories over perennial contenders John Dodson, Jimmie Rivera, and UFC Hall-of-Famer Urijah Faber. Earlier this month, UFC President Dana White had said that Yan would be competing for the vacant title if Cejudo did indeed retire following his victory over Dominick Cruz on May 9.
José Aldo had previously been scheduled to take on Henry Cejudo for the bantamweight championship prior to the COVID-19 pandemic removing the event from Brazil and stopping his ability to travel internationally. From 2009 to 2015, Aldo held the UFC (formerly WEC) featherweight championship and defended the title a record setting seven times in the Octagon en route to becoming one of the best mixed martial artists of all-time. Aldo posted a 2-1 record following the loss of his title and elected to move down to bantamweight in late 2019. Aldo made his debut against former champion Marlon Moraes in December where he lost a split-decision in a highly competitive fight. White defended the decision earlier this year to give Aldo a title by saying that Aldo’s pedigree as a legend in the sport and Cejudo’s desire to fight him as warranting the opportunity despite not being given the decision by the judges in December. With the UFC moving forward without fans (and thus being without live gate revenue) for the foreseeable future, adding the star power of José Aldo competing for a title against Yan makes the most sense for the promotion to bolster ratings.
Nothing but respect ✊🏼 pic.twitter.com/gH26zThZoW
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) May 28, 2020
While no date or location has officially been given for the bout, Yan’s residence in Russia and Aldo’s residence in Brazil has many speculating that it will take place on the much discussed “Fight Island” sometime in July. The UFC has also officially announced several high profile bantamweight bookings in the past two weeks with top contenders and former champions Aljamain Sterling, Frankie Edgar, Cody Garbrandt, and Cory Sandhagen all returning to action this summer.
