ABU DHABI – When [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] set out on his MMA journey, he never planned for a specific opponent. He planned for UFC gold.
With much discussion surrounding [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]’s retirement and the promotion’s subsequent decision to pair Yan with [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag], the Russian fighter isn’t interested in self-matchmaking.
If he was to defeat a current champion or if he wins a vacant title, as is Saturday’s opportunity, the accomplishment is the same, Yan said Wednesday. This aside, Yan isn’t a fan of Cejudo’s departure.
“My goal is always to win the belt – not to defeat Cejudo,” Yan told reporters, including MMA Junkie, through an interpreter during a media scrum. “Cejudo ran away. It was his choice. If he (was) confident he was going to defeat all of these contenders, he would’ve stayed. I don’t know why he ran away. Maybe he’s not confident in himself. Maybe he found a third girlfriend like he said. But I’m going to fight for the belt.”
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In a division full of contenders, the UFC elected for Yan (14-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) to fight Aldo (28-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) instead of surging Aljamain Sterling. The move was questioned by many fans and media because Aldo was coming off a loss in his divisional debut. On Wednesday, Yan defended the UFC’s decision, citing Aldo’s legend status.
“Yeah, I think he deserves to fight for the title,” Yan said. “He’s been promised a title shot before. He’s still very dangerous. Obviously, he’s still very famous – a legend of the sport. So it’s going to be a very interesting fight.”
Yan promised if he wins, he’ll defend his belt against the bantamweight division’s top contenders. He’s not interested in jumping divisions in pursuit of champ-champ status.
“Of course my plan is to win the belt first,” Yan said. “I never pick opponents. Whoever the UFC matchmakers will choose, I’m going to fight them. I’m going to defend my title against them. I’m not going to jump divisions. I’m going to focus on bantamweight. I’m going to focus on defending my belt.”
UFC 251 takes place Saturday at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
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