Petr Yan is special. Except for a recent rough patch where he lost a couple of controversial split decisions and suffered a disqualification loss, the Russian has been nothing but stellar throughout his UFC stint. Of course, his unmatched tenacity, stellar boxing skills, and exceptional mental fortitude are what make him special. But perhaps the biggest factor in his decision to become a martial artist is his older brother.

After all, Yan’s older brother trailblazed the path of combat sports in his family that the UFC star would later take. But not many know about the former bantamweight champion’s early days and how his brother was crucial in getting him started on his martial arts journey.

All we know about Petr Yan’s brother and their relationship

Virtually nothing is known about Petr Yan’s older brother. But we can reconstruct some of it based on Petr’s early life, since the siblings lived together when they were much younger. The brothers were born and grew up in the Siberian region of Russia, and moved around quite a bit when they were young.

This led to Petr getting in a lot of fights since he would be an easy target for boys in new places, especially because he was smaller than most. However, Petr had been taking taekwondo classes from a young age, and would often hold his own.

The relationship between the Yan brothers seems to have been that of typical siblings, with Petr revealing that his brother didn’t really enjoy his company very much when they were young.

“When you have an older brother, especially when we like have a four-year difference you know, older brother doesn’t really want to take care of you, you know, [and] take responsibility. That’s why he always want to keep you away away from his company,” Petr revealed in an interview with ‘Shak MMA’. However, the most defining point of Petr’s life came when his family moved to the central Russian city of Dudinka.

When Petr Yan convinced his brother to teach him boxing

Petr Yan’s older brother became interested in boxing after the family moved to Dudinka. Petr, too, wanted to train in boxing, following his brother’s example. However, the elder Yan was completely against the idea of having his younger brother tag along with him. But Petr is nothing if not tenacious.

The Russian UFC star would take matters into his own hands and decided to sneak into the gym where his brother trained. There he would start taking boxing classes, beginning his journey to becoming one of the best mixed martial artists in the world. Thankfully, his brother, seeing the promise and passion Petr had for the sport, would come around and support him on his martial arts journey to the point that the elder Yan is delighted at all the success his younger brother has achieved. Perhaps none of it would have been possible without Petr’s older brother.

“And I had it same, way you know. But I really like the sport, I really like the whole the combat aspect of it. And maybe because I had his example, of my brother, in front of me doing these things that’s why I choose this path. And maybe that’s why I also overcome him and became better than him on this path. But right now he’s very happy for all my successes and he really enjoys it,” Petr said in the same interview. What do you think about Petr Yan’s relationship with his older brother?