UFC 251- Petr Yan knocks out Jose Aldo to become the new UFC Bantamweight Champion
UFC 251 featured three-championship fights and the first of which being Jose Aldo going head-to-head against Petr Yan for the vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship.
The UFC Bantamweight Title, as you might recall, was vacated after Henry Cejudo's retirement at UFC 249 after 'Triple C' had secured a win over Dominick Cruz in what remains as the final fight of his MMA career.
The fight began with the two fighters engaging in the opening round with Yan being dropped early and Aldo's body-language also seemed quite impressive in the openings stages. However, Round #1 ended in Petr Yan's favor, as he dominated the final few seconds with some ground and pound.
The fight restarted and Aldo also used a few inside leg kicks, yay return of Jose Aldo leg kicks, as a certain Sean O'Malley had his eyes set on this one. Aldo might've edged out Round #2 by a slight margin but Yan matched him almost at every go.
Round 3 saw Yan being relentless with his attacks but his Brazilian counterpart fired back with brutal punches to the body. The fight has mostly taken place at the center of the Octagon and on foot, as we entered the championship rounds
Even Daniel Sturridge was enjoying those leg kicks!
Round #4 and much like first-round, Yan picked his spots and landed his punches with precision.
The final round of the fight and Yan almost immediately dropped Aldo, as the former was aiming for a finish. Yan battered the former UFC Featherweight Champion on the ground and kept hitting Aldo with brutal punches, as the latter was just trying his best to survive.
Aldo was busted wide open by now but kept taking those shots for the next two minutes almost, however, despite a resilient effort, the fight was eventually called-off by the ref.
What's next for Petr Yan?
With Petr Yan now winning the UFC Bantamweight Championship, the Russian is expected to defend his title against Aljamain Sterling, who is at the top of the contender's list in the stacked Bantamweight Division.
Nevertheless, congratulations to Petr Yan on the biggest win of his career and winning the UFC Bantamweight Title.