Sports · Combat Sports · 1 hr ago
Volkanovski and Yan sparred years before their UFC 333 title defenses
Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan sparred at Tiger Muay Thai, a gym in Thailand, several years ago.
A video of their technical sparring, lasting just over three minutes, was uploaded in 2020.
The two champions became friends while training at the same gym.
They are both set to defend their titles at UFC 333 on October 24, with Volkanovski competing for the featherweight title and Yan for the bantamweight title.
Earlier this month, Yan backed Movsar Evloev in the next featherweight title fight, while Volkanovski backed Yan to keep his bantamweight title.
The pair have also competed on several of the same UFC cards, and they have usually both won on those nights.
Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan are set to defend their UFC titles at UFC 333 on October 24.
The two fighters sparred at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand several years ago, and footage of the session was posted in 2020.
Volkanovski and Yan became friends while training together.
Volkanovski backed Yan to retain his bantamweight title, while Yan has said he would not want to beat his friend in a potential move to featherweight.
They have appeared on the same UFC event cards four times, according to Bloody Elbow.
- Who
- Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan.
- What
- The two UFC champions sparred years ago and are both defending their titles at UFC 333.
- When
- Their sparring footage was posted on July 30, 2020. Their title defenses are scheduled for October 24, 2026.
- Where
- They trained at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand.
- Why
- They trained at the same gym and developed a friendship; the sources do not state why they sparred.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Volkanovski and Yan competed in title fights at UFC 251 and won, according to Bloody Elbow.
Footage of the pair sparring was uploaded by Jeff Sainlar.
Volkanovski and Yan are scheduled to defend their titles at UFC 333.
- Fighters
- Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan
- Training gym
- Tiger Muay Thai, Thailand
- Video upload date
- July 30, 2020
- Event
- UFC 333
- Scheduled title-defense date
- October 24, 2026