The third fight of UFC 251 was the first of three title bouts and it featured two very exciting strikers in Petr Yan and former featherweight champion Jose Aldo. The two met on Saturday, July 11 in a match to determine the new bantamweight champion, which was vacated by Henry Cejudo following his surprising retirement at UFC 249 in May.
The lead-up to the championship fight wasn't without a bit of controversy as some believed Aldo didn't deserve the first shot at the vacant title, especially after suffering back to back losses to Alexander Volkanovski and Marlon Moraes. The latter being his bantamweight debut, although many believe he actually won his fight against Moraes. The fight proved to be an exciting one although Petr Yan eventually landed the finish in the fifth round to become the new UFC undisputed bantamweight champion.
It was actually a pretty even fight for the first three rounds with both fighters having their moments. Yan came out strong, quickly getting his opponent's attention with the first big shot of the match. Aldo countered with a leg kick that temporarily dropped Yan. The end of the round proved to be the most exciting after an awkward takedown attempt resulted in Aldo on his back. It looked like things were going to end early when Yan appeared to hurt Aldo, who visibly grimaced after a shot to the ribs.
Aldo made it out of the round and rebounded nicely in the second, neutralizing Yan's attack with powerful leg kicks. Yan did what he could to defend the attacks, including switching stances. The chess match continued in round three with Yan continuing to go for the head while Aldo worked the body.
With fatigue setting in for Aldo in the championship rounds, Yan started to pull ahead in the fourth. He started to land cleaner shots more frequently and locked up the frame with a takedown followed by ground strikes. It was clear by the start of the fifth round that Yan had the momentum. A right-hand by Yan hurt Aldo early and the Russian went all-in for the finish. Taking Aldo's back, Yan fired a relentless barrage of strikes. The bloodied and tired Aldo could do nothing but try and cover-up and after an uncomfortable amount of time had passed, referee Leon Roberts finally stepped in to call the fight at the 3:24 mark.
Normally UFC fans are quick to hop on referees for early stoppages but in this case, most agree that Roberts had let the punishment go on for too long. Aldo was clearly hurt and not making any attempt to fight back. While he appeared okay afterward, he still took some unnecessary blows at the end.
With the win, Petr Yan now becomes the undisputed bantamweight champion. This is now Jose Aldo's third loss in a row and second in the bantamweight division. At 33-years-old, it's unclear what's next for the former champion.