Petr Yan eyes featherweight move but draws line at Alexander Volkanovski fight

Petr Yan has expressed interest in moving up to featherweight in the future but made clear he has no intention of fighting his close friend and reigning 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski.

The bantamweight titleholder reclaimed his belt with an upset victory over Merab Dvalishvili in December, more than two years after losing their first encounter decisively. When asked by Full Violence whether he would consider a move up in weight, Yan (20–5) left the door open for a potential jump to 145 pounds—but with one firm caveat.

"Moving up sounds interesting to me, maybe somewhere in the future," Yan said. "Just 145 pounds champ is my friend Alex Volkanovski, so I don't want to beat him up." The Russian's respect for Volkanovski reflects their established friendship and suggests that any featherweight ambitions would likely target a different opponent or wait until the champion moves on.

Yan is scheduled to defend his bantamweight title in a trilogy rematch against Dvalishvili at UFC 333 on October 24 in Abu Dhabi, on the same card where Volkanovski (28–4) will defend his featherweight crown against undefeated contender Movsar Evloev (20–0). Both champions' performances that night could reshape the lightweight landscape.