Preview: UFC on ABC 9 ‘Whittaker vs. de Ridder’

Bantamweights

Petr Yan (18-5, 10-4 UFC) vs. Marcus McGhee (10-1, 4-0 UFC)

Odds: Yan (-375); McGhee (+275)

Much like Whittaker in the main event, Yan is a still-young former champ tasked with turning back a relative newcomer who has risen to contender status quickly. “No Mercy” has received little mercy from the UFC in terms of matchmaking, as he lost four of five fights from 2021 to 2023 while running a gauntlet of the next three champs in his division. Even those losses to Aljamain Sterling, Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili are deceptive, however: Yan lost his title to Sterling via disqualification in a fight he had been winning, and while his decision loss in the rematch was free of controversy, it was a very competitive fight.

The split decision loss to O'Malley went beyond merely competitive, going down as perhaps the biggest robbery of the year. And while Dvalishvili ended up running roughshod over Yan by the end of their fight, he has done the same to everyone else too. In other words, it is not only conceivable, but likely that Yan is one of the top three bantamweights in the UFC at the moment, despite being nearly a forgotten man just a year or two ago.

At his best, Yan is one of the best boxers in MMA. His jab, footwork and head movement are all top-tier and he consistently throws good combinations. His feet are often overshadowed by his hands, but when he feels like it he can flick out untelegraphed kicks from both sides at all levels. He has solid if underused offensive wrestling, and his takedown defense has been outstanding against opponents not named Dvalishvili—even his two fights with Sterling were closely contested in that regard.

McGhee’s path to Saturday’s co-main event is the polar opposite of Yan’s. Three years older than the Russian, “The Maniac” was such a latecomer to MMA that by the time of his professional debut in 2020, Yan was already 15 fights into his career and just a few months away from winning the UFC title. He looked impressive as a power-hitting regional bantamweight but considering his age, expectations were muted ahead of his UFC debut two years ago. Since then, he has racked up four straight wins, three of them by finish, culminating in a decision victory over Jonathan Martinez at UFC 309 last November.

Like Yan, McGhee is a striker by preference who backs it up with effective wrestling. However, where Yan is a fencer, mastering distance and using speed variation to hit and not be hit in return, McGhee is much more of a straightforward attacker. He marches forward, throwing hard hooks and crosses as well as some nasty kicks to the legs and body. While the technique is basic, he is aggressive and everything benefits from his speed and athleticism. Even against Martinez, a taller, more experienced and more technically “correct” kickboxer, it was enough to confound his foe and carry him to victory.

Expect a bull-versus-matador dynamic to this fight. McGhee will stalk Yan and try to land overhands and kicks, while Yan should circle, L-step and look to counter. That may make the fight seem more competitive than it is; there is a certain school of thought that, in the absence of a major disparity in damage or volume, tends to see the fighter walking forward as the one winning the fight. (It’s a fallacy; there is a reason cage control is last on the list of criteria for victory.)

However, Yan’s technical advantages should frustrate McGhee and have him looking out of his depth for long stretches. While the matador doesn’t always win, he usually does, and a similar dynamic applies here. McGhee has the power to starch any 135-pounder in the world, including Yan, but Yan remains very difficult to hit cleanly. If this were a five-round fight, giving Yan even more time to figure McGhee out and providing him more insulation against his own sometimes slow starts, it would be an even more confident pick, but the lean is still towards Yan to win a straightforward decision.



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Whittaker vs. de Ridder
Yan vs. McGhee
Magomedov vs. Barriault
Almabayev vs. Ochoa
Krylov vs. Guskov
The Prelims