Petr Yan was called the greatest fighter of all time at 135 lbs by longtime rival Sean O'Malley, who has a deep-seated rivalry with Yan dating back to their fight at UFC 280 in October 2022.
What sparked the praise?
O'Malley's comments came after Yan's impressive performance against Merab Dvalishvili, which led O'Malley to reconsider his opinion on the best bantamweight fighter.
Sean O'Malley previously thought Aljamain Sterling or Merab Dvalishvili were the greatest, but now believes it's Yan.
Why the respect?
O'Malley has a lot of respect for Petr Yan, considering him as skilled as it gets in MMA, comparable to Ilia Topuria and Jon Jones.
Petr Yan's skills are recognized by people in the fighting community, who know how good he is.
What comes next?
A potential rematch between O'Malley and Yan is on the horizon, with O'Malley coming off a TKO win over Aiemann Zahabi at the UFC White House card.
Petr Yan has been linked to a trilogy bout against Dvalishvili first, so O'Malley may have to wait for a title shot.
O'Malley's win over Zahabi and Song Yadong in his last two outings may be enough for a title shot.
Petr Yan has not competed since December 2022 at UFC 323, when he upset Dvalishvili to claim the UFC bantamweight title.
Yan had back surgery following the bout and is expected to return to the Octagon by the end of this year.
The potential rematch between O'Malley and Yan is highly anticipated, given their close fight at UFC 280, which many fans and media scored in favor of Yan.