Mural of Petr Yan Goes up in Russia, Following Championship Win

You know a fighter is approaching superstardom status when they have a mural painted of them, and that’s what’s happened in Petr Yan’s native Russia.

A mural of Yan has gone up in St. Petersburg

Yan faced Jose Aldo for the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 251 last weekend, and he secured the belt, by stopping the legend in round five. 

Since then, the image below has been shared out, which features a mural of Yan that apparently was painted in St. Petersburg.

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Поздравляем @petr_yan с победой! Следим за его творчеством со времён, когда это ещё не было мэйн-стримом! Пётр мастерски расправляется со своими соперниками, как настоящий художник с холстом. Приятно делать подарки таким великим людям! Респект за победу! Адрес: Санкт-Петербург, улица Печатника Григорьева 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . #ufc#ufcrussia#petryan#arhangelmihail##архангелмихаил#spbcolors#mma#rusfighters#russia#josealdo#санктпетербург#teamyan#nomercy

A post shared by Граффити из Петербурга (@spbcolors) on Jul 13, 2020 at 7:29am PDT

Yan’s next fight?

The consensus is that Yan will face Aljamain Sterling in his first title defense, as the latter has won five straight and he quickly submitted Corey Sandhagen in June. While talking with the media after his title win, Yan acknowledged Sterling should be next (quote via MMA Fighting).

“I think October will be a perfect time,” Yan said. “I think Aljamain Sterling deserves to fight for the title. He’s on a good streak and beat a lot of good guys.”

“I want to rest now and recover,” Yan stated. “I want to go back to my home land and see my family, and then it’s the work of my management team. In my first 18 months with the UFC, I took six fights and never said no to an offer. You’ll probably find out, soon.”

The 27-year-old has gone 7-0 to date in the UFC, and Yan now carries a record of 17-1.