UFC title challenger Petr Yan isn’t worried about getting overshadowed by Henry Cejudo’s legacy. The Russian claims that beating Cejudo was never his goal.

Petr Yan will receive his first-ever title shot in less than a week. The 27-year-old will fight legendary featherweight Jose Aldo for the vacant UFC bantamweight championship. The bout will go down this Saturday at UFC 251 on Yas Island, aka Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

So how did this fight materialize? After Cejudo defeated Dominick Cruz at UFC 249, he retired. “Triple C” left the division without a champion and forced the UFC to crown a new one. As a result, the UFC set up Petr Yan vs Jose Aldo at Fight Island.

During the UFC 251 pre-fight interview, Yan commented on the former champion.

“So my goal was always to win the belt. Not to defeat Cejudo. Cejudo ran away. It was his choice. If he was confident, he would have defeated all these contenders. He would have stayed. I don’t know why he ran away. Maybe he’s not confident in himself. Maybe he found the first girlfriend like he said. But I’m going to fight for the belt now.”

Petr Yan will fight anybody the UFC puts in front of him

The UFC upset many fans and pundits when they announced that Jose Aldo will fight for the title. Why? The Brazilian is coming off a loss to Marlon Moraes. Besides that, Aljamain Sterling has a better resume than Aldo. However, Yan thinks Aldo deserves the shot as the former champion is still a dangerous opponent.

“I think he [Jose Aldo] deserves to fight for the title. He’s been promised a title shot before, he’s still very dangerous, obviously. He’s very famous and legend of the sport. So it’s gonna be a very interesting fight.”

Moreover, Yan stated that he will concentrate only on bantamweight if he wins the belt. He will not be jumping weight classes.

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“My plan is to win the belt first. I never pick opponents. Whoever UFC matchmaker will choose, I’m gonna fight them. I’m gonna defend my title against them. And I’m not gonna jump divisions. I’m gonna focus on bantamweight, I’m gonna focus on defending my belt.”

Who do you think will win at UFC 251?