Alternative title shot? Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo battle for chance to get manhandled by Merab Dvalishvili | UFC Macau

Andrew Richardson is a professional fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, Calif., providing MMAmania.com (and its readers) with expert technical fighter breakdowns, insight and analysis you can't get anywhere else.

UFC’s Bantamweight division is in a strange place right now. On paper, it shouldn’t be complicated.

Merab Dvalishvili rag-dolled Sean O’Malley en route to a dominant title win earlier this year (watch highlights), extending his current win streak to 11. Fortunately, there’s a top contender ready to challenge his wrestling in undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov, who defeated Cory Sandhagen in a five-round unanimous decision win to solidify his argument for a title shot.

Right?

Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov is the obvious next fight to make, an intriguing stylistic clash that could go either way. Alas, “The Machine” doesn’t appear interested and is definitely not choosing to make a quick return. The fight could still happen in March, if Nurmagomedov doesn’t opt to fight again in the interim, potentially delaying his shot further by ending up cut open, injured or losing outright.

Enter Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo, UFC’s unlikely back up plan.

Both Yan and Figueiredo are former champions, as well as electric talents. Since the announcement of their UFC Macau main event, scheduled for early Saturday morning (Nov. 23, 2024) from the “Las Vegas of the East,” fans have been excited about the booking. Both of these athletes are experienced in five round wars, highly skilled, and known for violent stand up battles.

The fight is also being marketed as an alternative title eliminator. It’s clearly the second choice for Dana White and Co,, but the victor could end up in the cage versus Dvalishvili early next year. If that does happen, it’s a significant step in either unlikely journey back to gold.

For all their talents and previous accomplishments, I don’t think many are betting Yan or Figueiredo to end 2025 with a golden belt. Yan’s misfortunes are well-covered at this point. “No Mercy” is genuinely one of the nastiest fighters on the planet, but bad decision-making and bad luck have trashed what could have been a lengthy title reign.

It’s worth repeating: throwing the criminally stupid grounded knee at Aljamain Sterling in a fight he was clearly winning ruined everything. Instead of tacking on a title defense, he opened the door for the “Funkmaster” title reign. Losing a highly debatable split to Sean O’Malley can’t be helped, but that loss brings us to the biggest current issue: Yan got trounced by the current champion, 50-45.

It was an odd and unpleasant fight. Yan defended the vast majority of his opponent’s takedowns only to get thoroughly out-struck by the wrestler. He couldn’t adjust to the relentlessness of Dvalishvili, and there’s no indication that a rematch would go any differently. Even if Yan wins this weekend in the most exciting fashion possible, it would be quite a hard sell.

Figueiredo is facing long odds for a different reason. A few weeks away from his 37th birthday, the former two-time Flyweight king is already defying expectations by continuing to compete well. There have been some necessary adjustments to his game up a weight class, notably more of a reliance on wrestling to snag rounds and more measured output. In addition, “Daico” is still a respectable hitter, but he’s not just murdering his opposition with juggernaut punches anymore. Consequently, he’s won three straight fights via decision.

Does that sound like a recipe to defeat Dvalishvili? Dvalishvili pushes the most ridiculous pace in UFC history, walks through punishment without issue, and would love to throw around a fighter who got outwrestled on several occasions down a weight class.

It’s a bit of a paradox.

Umar Nurmagomedov is a more winnable fight for either simply because his wrestling isn’t quite so nonstop. There would at least be exchanges that Figueiredo could theoretically capitalize upon, and Yan is skilled enough as a wrestler and striker to keep up with his fellow Russian anywhere.

Waiting for Nurmagomedov to fight and potentially defeat Dvalishvili is the more possible path, but there are too many unknowns about timing and having to fight again. Instead, Yan and Figgy will both aim to impress at UFC Macau, even if the reward is a most-likely-unpleasant date with “The Machine.”

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WELTERWEIGHT WARTIME! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., Nov. 9, 2024, with an important Welterweight main event between battle-tested veteran and No. 15-ranked contender Neil Magny as he takes on fast-rising “Contender Series” phenom Carlos Prates. In addition, former Bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt returns to face off against red-hot Miles Johns in UFC Vegas 100’s hard-hitting co-headliner.

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