UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan admitted that he is open to moving up to the featherweight division in the future.
Yan returns to the Octagon at UFC 333 later this month when he battles rival Merab Dvalishvili for a third time in the pair’s trilogy bout.
While he’s not looking too far into the future, Yan admitted that, one day, a move up to the UFC featherweight division intrigues him.
Petr Yan Open to Featherweight Move
Speaking to the “Full Violence Podcast,” Yan said he’s open to moving up to featherweight at some point.
“You know, if someone is gonna move up and challenge me, it’s maybe a question for them, not for me. But, personally, for myself, moving up, it sounds interesting too. Somewhere in the future, yeah,” Yan said (via Bloody Elbow).
While the Russian would be open to such a weight class change one day in the future, it won’t be now while his friend, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, remains the champion.
“145 champ is my friend Alex Volkanovski, so I don’t want to beat him up,” Yan said.
Petr Yan Looking for Successful Title Defense
After beating Dvalishvili in a big upset in the pair’s rematch back at UFC 323 in December 2025, Yan is finally returning to the Octagon to battle his long-time rival in their trilogy bout later this month at UFC 333.
Both Yan and Dvalishvili have sat out since their rematch, with Yan dealing with injuries and Dvalishvili deciding to sit and wait for an immediate title shot, which he earned by being a long-reigning champion who did the UFC a solid on multiple occasions by taking short-notice title fights to save cards.
Yan is the favorite to win the third meeting between these two, which makes sense given how dominantly he won the pair’s rematch last year, but Dvalishvili was also dominant the first time these two met a few years ago, so it’s not a foregone conclusion that Yan will beat up Dvalishvili again.
Still, it’s an intriguing rematch, and depending on how it goes, a move to 145 lbs could be in the works.
Petr Yan Open to UFC Featherweight Move