Merab
Dvalishvili believes he has identified the key mistake he made
in his rematch against Petr Yan.
Dvalishvili put his
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title on the line
for the fourth time within a year in a rematch against Yan last
December. While Dvalishvili was a sizable favorite, considering how
their first bout played out, Yan put on a technical masterclass to
piece up the Georgian en route to a unanimous decision victory.
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Dvalishvili plans to change his approach against Yan in their
UFC 333 trilogy
Dvalishvili recently said that he made the mistake of fighting
Yan’s fight in their rematch. “The Machine” believes it wasn’t wise
of him to trade on the feet against an elite boxer like Yan.
However, Dvalishvili is confident that he has made the necessary
improvements to reclaim the title from the Russian in their trilogy
fight.
“I think the second fight I was fighting his fight,” Dvalishvili
told MMA Fighting. “I was in front of him and then exchanged the
boxing, but this time I will just be myself. I think I’ll be much
sharper and I know I can beat this guy. He hits hard, he is good,
he’s shown, so it’s going to be a good fight. I’m excited.”
Dvalishvili (21-5) defeated Yan (20-5) via an emphatic unanimous
decision in their first fight in 2023. While Dvalishvili believes
he made the mistake of fighting Yan’s fight in their rematch, the
champ must be credited for forcing him to do so by stuffing
takedowns. Yan is now scheduled to defend his title in a rubber
match against Dvalishvili at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu
Dhabi.