Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan will likely miss the rest of 2024 due to surgery for multiple injuries, including a ruptured ACL and meniscus tear, sustained in his recent win at UFC 299.
Well, it’s a bummer. Petr Yan’s got a rough road ahead. He’s likely to sit out the rest of 2024. Why, you ask? He’s got surgery on the horizon. The culprit? A string of injuries from his latest victory at UFC 299.
The ex-UFC bantamweight champ, Yan, broke his three-fight losing streak. He did it by defeating Song Yadong. This losing streak had been haunting him since 2022. That’s when he lost to Aljamain Sterling. The match that cost him the 135-pound title.
Yan, the Russian powerhouse, was MIA for about a year. This was after his loss to Merab Dvalishvili. But boy, did he bounce back! His comeback against Song in March was nothing short of impressive.
But here’s the sad part. Yan’s got to wait for quite a while before his next fight.
“So MRI confirmed ACL rupture, meniscus tear and groin injury,” Yan tweeted. “Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. Nothing will break me, I’m determined to come back stronger than ever in no time.”
A ruptured ACL, torn meniscus, and a groin injury. Ouch. The ACL injury is the worst of the lot. Recovery from that surgery can take anywhere between nine months to a year. It’s unclear if the meniscus tear is in the same knee. But it’s likely that the docs will fix that during the ACL surgery.
This is a real downer for the 31-year-old fighter. He was just starting to pick up steam after his three-fight losing streak. Remember his epic battle with future champ Sean O’Malley? That ended in a razor-thin split decision.
After his win over Song at UFC 299, Yan was game for any tough opponent. There were plenty of options in the bantamweight rankings.
But now, Yan’s got to hit pause. He can’t issue any challenges until next year. That’s when he’ll be healed and ready to compete again. That’s after his upcoming surgery, of course.