Petr Yan to Face Marcus McGhee at UFC Abu Dhabi

A bantamweight barnburner has been added to UFC Abu Dhabi. 

Petr Yan (18-5) will face Marcus McGhee (10-1) at UFC on ABC 9 on July 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking on Wednesday following an initial report from Cageside Press. UFC Abu Dhabi is headlined by a middleweight showdown pitting Robert Whittaker against Reinier de Ridder.

Yan’s title reign came to an end at the hands of Aljamain Sterling via disqualification in 2021. After failing to reclaim his title in the rematch, Yan dropped two more fights against future champs Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. “No Mercy” has since bounced back with consecutive decision wins over Yadong Song and former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo last year. 

McGhee made his UFC debut on 13 days’ notice in 2023 and has racked up four straight wins with three finishes. McGhee comes off a unanimous decision win over fellow top prospect Jonathan Martinez, going the distance for the first time in his career.