Petr Yan and Marcus McGhee will do battle in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card from Abu Dhabi. Yan is a former bantamweight champion and will look to stay in the top-three in the division’s rankings. McGhee is unbeaten in his time with UFC and will look to make his first big splash with the promotion here. For a full breakdown of this fight, including my Petr Yan vs Marcus McGhee prediction, continue reading below.
Our Petr Yan vs Marcus McGhee Pick
- Pick: Petr Yan by decision
- Confidence: ★★★★☆
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Tale of the Tape
| Petr Yan | Marcus McGhee | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 32 | 35 |
| Height | 5′7″ | 5′8″ |
| Reach | 67″ | 69″ |
| Stance | Switch | Orthodox |
| Record | 18–5–0 | 10–1–0 |
Petr Yan vs Marcus McGhee Preview
Petr Yan has bounced back nicely from a rough stretch where he lost three fights in a row. He lost via split-decisions to Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley before a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili. But he has picked up back-to-back wins over Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo since then. His striking and his gas tank make him a bigger threat the longer that fights go on.
Marcus McGhee is off to a great start in his UFC career. He has won his first four fights with the promotion and has earned three of those wins via stoppages. But this matchup is by far the toughest that he has faced since joining UFC and it will be interesting to see how McGhee does in the biggest test of his career to date.
Betting Insights
- Petr Yan is a heavy favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook. He is -380 on the moneyline going into this matchup.
- McGhee is the underdog at +300 at DraftKings.
- This fight is expected to go the distance. The over 2.5 rounds option for this three-round fight is at -330.
- Yan has had six straight fights go to decisions.
Petr Yan vs Marcus McGhee Prediction
I think that Marcus McGhee speaks to how top-heavy the bantamweight division in UFC is right now. There are some great fighters at the top of the division. But McGhee has been able to walk through some lower-level fighters and earn a spot in the top 15 in the division. I expect McGhee to get a bit of a reality check in this fight against a veteran in Yan who can beat you in so many different ways.
Yan’s combination of elite wrestling and sharp striking gives him multiple pathways to victory here. McGhee will likely keep a fast pace and look for power shots but Yan is expected to neutralize that by slaloming between takedowns and technical striking. I expect Yan to control range, land takedowns, and win the majority of rounds on the judges’ scorecards.
Yan should keep his streak of decisions alive in this fight, as I do expect it to go the distance. I’ll take Yan to win this fight by decision and send McGhee back to the drawing board after a loss for the first time in his UFC career.
