Watch: Petr Yan and Kai Kara-France trade heavy blows as they spar at Tiger Muay Thai
It looks like it's heavy-sparring season at Tiger Muay-Thai. In a recently surfaced video, Petr Yan and No.2-ranked flyweight Kai Kara-France can be seen trading heavy shots.
In the video, both fighters can be seen slipping punches, throwing heavy shots and attempting takedowns on each other. The footage ends with both warriors showing each other their appreciation for a good day of work.
Watch Petr Yan and Kai Kara-France go toe-to-toe in sparring below:
It's no surprise that both fighters are stepping up their training sessions. Both the Kiwi and the Russian are due to enter the octagon soon.
Kara-France is scheduled to face former champion Brandon Moreno at UFC 277 this weekend. 'Don't Blink' is currently on an impressive three-fight win streak after securing a unanimous decision win over Askar Askarov in his last at UFC on ESPN 33.
Watch Kai Kara-France's octagon interview at UFC on ESPN 33 below:
'No Mercy', on the other hand, has reportedly been booked for a UFC 280 clash with highly touted bantamweight 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley.
The 29-year-old Russian is ciming off a loss in his rematch against champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 273.
Watch Dana White react to Yan's UFC 273 loss below:
Former UFC star Alan Jouban says Petr Yan is the toughest opponent of Sean O'Malley's career
Former UFC welterweight Alan Jouban, during a UFC 280 pre-fight presser, opined that former champion Petr Yan is the toughest test of 'Sugar' Sean's career. Jouban stated that the Russian's superior boxing and grappling are going to challenge the American:
"O'Malley will always be the longer, rangier sniper that he always is. But now, when you have somebody like Petr Yan that has the boxing speed and the grappling speed at that high level and he has gone five rounds many a times before, this will be most certainly the highest test of O'Malley's career."
Watch Alan Jouban talk about Yan vs. O'Malley below:
'Sugar' Sean has opened up as a +300 underdog for UFC 280. While former champion Yan is a -500 favorite. 'No Mercy' will be O'Malley's second-ever ranked opponent in the UFC after Pedro Munhoz.
#UFC280
Here are the opening odds for Petr Yan vs. Sean O'Malley:
Petr Yan -400 (1/4)
Sean O’Malley +300 (3/1)
(odds via @betonline_ag) 👀 #UFC280 https://t.co/LVfOqwDqii
Many fans and pundits have suggested that the Russian would be too steep a challenge for the barely tested American.
@espnmma @SugaSeanMMA @Realrclark25 @PetrYanUFC I love the sugar show but this is too much. Rather see him fight a anyone but Yan. Yan is ready for an ez fight