Jimmie Rivera at UFC 238 – June 8, 2019
Following his victory over Ishihara, Yan reeled off three more victories over Jin Soo Son, Douglas Silva de Andrade and John Dodson to earn himself a shot against a legitimate contender, Jimmie Rivera, at UFC 238.
Many believed the uber-tough Rivera would pose an acid test of Yan’s title credentials but, despite facing arguably the most durable opponent of his career, the Russian passed with flying colors.
Yan came close to scoring a stoppage victory at the end of both Round 1 and Round 2, as he hurt Rivera at the end of each of the first two frames. But the teak-tough New Yorker managed to stay in the contest as he pushed “No Mercy” all the way to the scorecards.
Yan did more than enough to get the nod on all three cards, though, as he proved his worth as a dangerous new threat to the division’s best at 135 pounds.
Next up: Defeating a legend
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