In that response is the essence of Yan. Polite, respectful, but with a mean streak when it comes to competition. Just look at his fights for proof. He doesn’t make a lot of noise, he doesn’t need to mean mug his opponents, but when the Octagon gate closes, he will punish his foes as he looks for the finish at every turn. It’s made him quite the fan favorite thus far.

“With every fight I can see that more and more people supporting me and cheering for me, and there are more people who like my fights and my technique. It’s really nice and I appreciate having this support from around the world.”

It looks like it’s only going to get bigger and better in 2019. Is it out of the question that this time next year will see “No Mercy” fighting for a world title? Absolutely not. And if that’s the way things go, Yan will have no problem stepping up when his name is called.



“Last year, thank God, everything was successful for me,” he said. “My plan for 2019 is not to relax and to keep working hard, because the competition is only gonna get tougher for me. I’m very determined to keep getting better every day and keep winning. And I want to say again, I don’t care who I will fight as long as it’s someone ranked higher than me. Even if it’s the number one or number two contender, it doesn’t matter. I will fight them all. It all depends on UFC and my management team; my job is to fight. I’m a soldier and I’m at war.”