UFC 251: new bantamweight champ Petr Yan shows ‘No Mercy’ at all to Jose Aldo on Fight Island

Russian tyro Petr “No Mercy” Yan brought down a legend of MMA in Jose “Junior” Aldo at UFC 215 on Sunday, and in claiming the UFC’s vacant bantamweight title via fifth-round TKO he continued to build his own.

"I wanted to put pressure on him, make him tired and then start attacking after the third round," said Yan "That’s exactly what happened.

“In the first and second round, he had hard punches and low kicks. I waited and pressured him. After the second round, I started to work. It was a good knockout. I liked it."

Coming in, Yan had said that the title was his destiny, something he’d worked towards since a young boy getting into scraps out on the streets out of his hometown of Dudinka.

The 27-year-old (15-1) took plenty of punishment from Aldo (28-6) across the four rounds – something he fully expected given that man’s rich history in the sport. But every single time he took a shot – big ones to the body, and a few bang on the button – Yan would shake his head, he’d raise his fists, and he’d start moving forward.

By the fifth round, the 33-year-old Aldo was feeling every year on the clock, and every blow to his body. By then it was a question of just trying to survive and when the Russian mounted him, and started ploughing in – elbows, fist, anything – there was nothing left for the ref to do but waive it all away at 3:24 on the clock.