Merab
Dvalishvili is determined to fight Petr Yan next,
regardless of how long it takes.
Dvalishvili (21-5) put his bantamweight title on the line for the
fourth time in a year in a rematch against Yan (20-5) at
UFC 323 this past December. Yan outclassed Dvalishvili in every
aspect to earn a huge upset win via unanimous decision. Dvalishvili
claims the
UFC has guaranteed him a trilogy fight against Yan. However,
Yan underwent lumbar surgery this past January, and his return
timeline currently remains uncertain.
Dvalishvili defeated Yan in their first outing in 2023. Dvalishvili
is now 1-1 head-to-head against “No Mercy” after losing his title
in their rematch. Dvalishvili wants to settle the trilogy against
Yan in his next outing, no matter when the champion might return.
“The Machine” believes the matchup is worth the wait and doesn’t
want to fight anyone else in the meantime.
‘It’s Worth the Wait’
“I’m waiting for Petr Yan
because this fight makes sense,” Dvalishvili said on ”The Ariel Helwani Show.” “Now we’re 1-1. I
beat him in 2023, and he beat me and opened me up good in 2025. I
have no excuse, of course I was going through some injuries, some
hard training sessions. But now we both have good time to prepare,
and I want to challenge myself to see who’s gonna win the trilogy.
I’m sure everyone will be excited for this one. It’s worth the
wait, and after this fight, we move on.”