Watch: When Petr Yan and Alexander Volkanovski had a sparring session ahead of UFC 251

Petr Yan (left) and Alexander Volkanovski (right) [Image Credit: @petr_yan & @alexvolkanovski via Instagram]

Petr Yan and Alexander Volkanovski engaged in a sparring session ahead of their respective bouts at UFC 251.

Volkanovski and Yan had a technical sparring session ahead of their bout at Tiger Muay Thai. Both former UFC bantamweight champion Yan and current featherweight champion Volkanovski put on continuous back-and-forth action in the sparring session. The pair landed head strikes and leg kicks on one another. 'The Great' landed more precise shots and looked fresh compared to the Russian.

You can watch the sparring session below:

Petr Yan faced Jose Aldo for the bantamweight title at UFC 251 in July 2020. 'No Mercy' was riding on a six-fight win streak in the UFC going into this bout. Aldo suffered back-to-back losses before competing for the bantamweight title.

Yan significantly outstruck Aldo in their bout and defeated the veteran in the fifth-round via TKO to become the new UFC bantamweight champion.

Alexander Volkanovski became the new UFC featherweight champion after defeating Max Holloway via unanimous decision at UFC 245.

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A post shared by Alexander Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski)

Volkanovski faced Holloway in a rematch for the featherweight title at UFC 251. 'The Great' outstruck Holloway and took him down multiple times to secure a split-decision victory.

The bout marked Volkanovski's first successful title defense. However, many still argue that 'Blessed' won that fight.

Petr Yan will be back in action at UFC 267

Petr Yan is set to face Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267 on October 30 in Abu Dhabi. The two bantamweights will compete for the interim 135-pound title. The winner of this bout will receive the opportunity to fight Aljamain Sterling in a title unification matchup.

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A post shared by Петр "No Mercy" Ян (@petr_yan)

Sterling was initially set to face Yan in a rematch for the title. However, 'Funk Master' had to withdraw from the bout due to lingering issues that he is dealing with following his neck surgery.

'No Mercy' lost his title to Sterling at UFC 259 in March. The Russian appeared to be nearing victory when he landed an illegal knee on Sterling in the fourth round that rendered 'Funk Master' unfit to continue.

Petr Yan lost the bout via disqualification, making Sterling the first champion in UFC history to be crowned via DQ.