Petr Yan showed Saturday night at UFC 245 that he is a real contender in the bantamweight division.

Yan delivered a head-kick knockout of former title challenger Urijah Faber to kickoff the pay-per-view main card from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Following the performance, Yan made it known that he wants Henry Cejudo for the belt next. Cejudo is both the bantamweight and flyweight champion.

I want next fight, Cejudo,” Yan said. “Triple clown? Where is triple clown?”

Yan, who was aggressive throughout the bout before catching Faber in the third round, mocked the nickname of Cejudo, “Triple C.”

“I’m very glad I won,” he said. “I hope Urijah fans are going to become my fans.”

Faber, who returned from retirement earlier this year, showed his toughness by surviving an earlier knockdown by Yan.

Less than a minute into the third round, though, Yan connected and that was it. He improved to 6-0 inside the Octagon and 14-1 overall.

Along with the win over Faber, Yan has also bested Jimmie Rivera, John Dodson, Douglas Silva de Andrade, Jin Soo Son and Teruto Ishihara since signing with the promotion in 2018. Of those victories, three have been stoppages.

Yan previously captured the Absolute Championship Berkut bantamweight belt. The 26-year-old from Dudinka Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia trains out of Tiger Muay Thai.

For Faber, the loss snapped a two-bout win streak. Earlier this year, he finished Ricky Simon in his first bout in just under three years.

Head on over to FightLine on The Mix for complete coverage of UFC 245.

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