Petr Yan vs Deiveson Figueiredo Breakdown
How Yan's calculated approach and adaptability overcame Figueiredo's dazzling power.
The fight between Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo was a pivotal moment in the careers of both men. Yan recently snapped the only losing streak of his career, and a win over Figueiredo was desperately needed to show that he can make a credible attempt at regaining his former title. For the ageing Figueiredo, a move to Bantamweight after losing his Flyweight belt set up one final title run. After winning three straight at 135lbs, a win over Yan would solidify his spot in the title picture.
Figueiredo’s power and his craft in applying it makes him a dangerous fight for just about anyone. But Yan in particular tends to do his best work pressuring his opponents, driving up the pace, and playing with their reactions inside punching range to extend exchanges. In order to play his A-game effectively against Figueiredo, he would need to get close, and getting close risks giving Figueiredo the opportunities his skillset is optimized to take advantage of.
We eventually saw some typical Yan buzzsawing, but early on in the fight he took a more patient approach that better exploited some of Figueiredo’s downsides. Figueiredo’s stance leaves no questions about what he wants to do - with his feet spread farther than shoulder width apart, his lead hand extending out from his body, and his right hand around nipple-high, his primary goal is to shove his rear hand through his opponent’s jaw as hard as he can.
But the wide, deep stance that leaves him perfectly optimized to shut the lights out whenever opponents give him an opening also hangs his lead leg out in front of him. Yan began exploiting that immediately with side kicks to the knee, chipping away at the stance and base that allows Figueiredo to wallop with such consistency.
These low side kicks come up so often because they’re one of the safest ways to poke at an opponent without stepping into them. They attack the nearest possible target with the longest possible weapon, and Figueiredo’s wide stance only made his lead leg an even closer target.
The beauty of these kicks is that they can put a knee out if they land just right, but even if they don’t wind up hurting, they still directly attack the weight transfer necessary to deliver power. To land his rear hand, Figueiredo needs to step forward with his lead foot and transfer weight onto it, making him a mark for a hard kick to the knee. By constantly showing the low side kicks early on, Yan kept him hesitant to commit weight to the lead foot and limited when he could comfortably initiate his power punches.
Yan also attacked the lead leg with more powerful outside leg kicks, but the threat of the side kicks allowed him to step into those leg kicks without fear of a counter. There’s three basic ways to defend a leg kick - either pick the leg up to check, draw it back to make the kick fall short, or step in deep with weight on the lead leg and counter. Figueiredo’s wide, set stance and heavy rear hand makes him a constant threat to step down the middle of the kick and blast a counter, but his stance isn’t optimized for any other method of defense. The low side kicks, however, present a linear threat that can’t be easily jammed and encouraged Figueiredo to keep his lead foot light.
Yan paired the low side kicks with constant foot feints, taking small, choppy steps in with his lead foot to throw off Figueiredo’s timing. Between the side kicks and the feints, Figueiredo had little success timing his outside leg kicks and Yan was able to land them for free early. Yan was also immediately ready to counter off his leg kicks, using a lead hook to reset his stance and ward Figueiredo off following him back with counters.
The lead leg body kick has always played a role in Yan’s fights, but he typically uses it as a distance closing weapon. He’ll step up with his rear leg and throw the body kick at a retreating opponent, planting his kicking foot down right in front of them and continuing on with punches as he eats up space. He threw a few of those against Figueiredo, but his lead leg was mainly used for another purpose - attacking Figueiredo’s rear hand.