Biography of Peter Yan
Petr Yan is a rising star in mixed martial arts, the second Russian after Khabib Nurmagomedov to win the UFC title, but in the bantamweight division.
In the photo: Petr Yan
Childhood and youth
Peter Yan was born in a small village in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and lived there until the age of twelve. Then the family moved to Dudinka, where Peter went to the sixth grade. Yang owes his unusual surname to his paternal grandfather, a full-blooded Chinese. The father’s grandmother is Georgian, the athlete’s mother and her relatives are Russian.
Little Petya grew up as a mobile, energetic boy, he was distinguished by an explosive temper and a heightened sense of justice. From childhood, he used to defend his innocence with his fists, often got involved in street fights, after which he came home with bruises and abrasions.
He simply had nowhere to spend his indefatigable energy – there were no children’s circles or sections in the village. Everything changed after moving to the city – Peter immediately signed up for football, acrobatics and swimming, tried weightlifting and taekwondo.
I studied on the second shift, so I managed to do everything, and in the conditions of the polar night, there was still nothing more to do. In the end, the guy chose boxing – the example of his older brother played a decisive role. Yes, and the glory of Kostya Tszyu, the idol of childhood, spurred the guy on decisive action.
Petr Yan’s childhood idol – Kostya Tszyu
Nikolai Nikolaevich Surzhikov became Yan’s first coach, immediately appreciating the abilities of his new student. It was he who advised me to move to Omsk after the ninth grade and continue my studies with Yuri Vladimirovich Demchenko, a master of sports in boxing and a talented teacher who brought up a whole galaxy of outstanding athletes.
Petr Yan with first coach Nikolai Surzhikov
Demchenko personally met a fifteen-year-old teenager at the station and assigned him to a sports school. After studying there for two years, Peter entered the Siberian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports. To earn a living, the young man participated in paid fights in the popular Omsk nightclub Atlantis (he received 4,000 rubles for a duel), and worked there as a security guard and bouncer.
Career in sports
Peter devoted eight years to professional boxing, became a master of sports and realized that he had reached the ceiling. There was a desire to try himself in something else, and the young man began to be interested in mixed martial arts. He made his debut in 2013 in Irkutsk, having learned about the fight ten days before the start of the tournament. The fight turned out to be difficult, but in the extra round, Jan still managed to knock out his opponent and emerge victorious from the fight.
Petr Yan is a rising star in mixed martial arts
A successful first performance was followed by several fights in Omsk, after which representatives of the DIA became interested in the young athlete and signed a contract with him. The guy faced serious competition – he had to try hard to gain a foothold in leadership positions.
Petr Yan in training
In October 2015, he won the fight against Murad Kalamov, which gave him the opportunity to meet in the next fight with Magomed Magomedov. This fight ended in the defeat of Jan, but already in the next meeting – with the Englishman Ed Arthur – Peter managed to fully rehabilitate himself for an unfortunate loss.
Frame of the first fight with Magomed Magomedov
On April 15, 2017, a second duel with Magomedov took place, which ended in a complete victory for Peter. Yan became the DIA bantamweight champion, and on September 30 confirmed his title with a victory over the Brazilian Matheus Mattos.
Petr Yan – Magomed Magomedov. Before the rematch
In January 2018, Yang signed with the UFC, the most established MMA fight organizer in the world. By that time, the athlete already felt confident in his abilities, he developed his own style – assertive and aggressive. His main trump card was the work with his hands, the scope of which is equal to his height (170 cm). In fighting circles, Peter received the nickname Nomercy, which means “There will be no mercy.”
In January 2018 Petr Yan signed a contract with the UFC
Jan spent his first fight in the UFC on June 23, 2018 in Singapore, where he met with the Japanese Teruto Ishihara and won a landslide victory over him. The titled Brazilian Douglas Silvadi Andrade was supposed to be his next opponent, but due to a leg injury he was replaced by the Korean Jin Soo Son. The Korean lost the fight and was forced to give 20 percent of his fee in favor of his opponent, as his weight slightly exceeded the established norm. Yan also received the Fight of the Night award – the audience and judges unanimously appreciated the spectacularity of the fight and the intensity of passions that reigned in the ring.
Frame of the battle Petr Yan – Jin Su Son
On December 29, 2018, the previously postponed fight with Douglas Silvadi Andradi took place. In the second round, Peter won by technical knockout, after which the fight was stopped due to a severe cut on the Brazilian’s face. Petr came out victorious in the fight with the American John Dodson in February 2019. And on December 14 of the same year, he knocked out the eminent American fighter Urijah Faber with a head kick and became the owner of the Performance of the Night award.
Personal life of Peter Yan
Peter met his future wife Yulia in Omsk when he was just starting his sports career. Since then, she has accompanied her beloved husband everywhere and has been his talisman for good luck.
Petr Yan with his wife Yulia in his youth
In 2016, the couple had their first child Daniel. The kid is like two drops of water similar to his famous father and is already dreaming of sports victories.
Petr Yan with his wife and son Daniel
In February 2024, Jan took a short break and flew with his son and pregnant Yulia to Thailand to relax with his family before the fight for the title. But due to the coronavirus epidemic and quarantine, it became impossible to get out of the country, and the family had to stay in Phuket for almost five months. Peter rented a villa with a swimming pool on the ocean, equipped a training room in it and began to prepare for the fight on his own. On June 22, in the same place, in Thailand, their second son was born, who was named Konstantin in honor of Kostya Tszyu. After the fight in Abu Dhabi, the couple returned to Yekaterinburg, where Jan and his family have been living since 2018 and playing for the local club Archangel Michael.
Petr Yan now
On July 12, 2024, at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, Yan fought Brazilian Jose Aldo for the bantamweight title. Most of the fight, the advantage was on the side of the Russian athlete, only in the second round did Aldo manage to seize a temporary advantage. In the final, Yang went on a crushing attack and with a series of powerful blows completely demoralized the enemy. The fight ended with a technical knockout, after which the referee decided to stop the fight.
Shot from the fight with the Brazilian Jose Aldo
Following the results of five rounds, Yang scored a clear victory over the eminent Brazilian and became the second Russian after Khabib Nurmagomedov to win the UFC title. In this fight, Yang struck the opponent with 194 blows, which was an absolute record for this weight category.
The next opponent of our athlete will most likely be one of the best fighters in America, Aljamain Sterling. Immediately after the fight with Aldo, he congratulated Jan on his victory and expressed his desire to meet him in the ring soon.
