LOS ANGELES – Merab Dvalishili knows what went wrong the second time he crossed paths with Petr Yan.
The rivals are set to collide in a trilogy bout in the co-main event of UFC 333, which takes place in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 24. Dvalishvili dominated their first encounter in 2023, taking Yan down over and over again to win a decision. However, it was Yan who triumphed in their rematch at UFC 323, putting on a virtuoso performance to end Dvalishvili’s bantamweight title reign and become a two-time champion.
Facing another 25 minutes in the cage with Yan, Dvalishvili told MMA Fighting’s José Youngs he plans to get back to basics.
“I think the second fight I was fighting his fight,” Dvalishvili said. “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 was on a run of three straight successful title defenses before the loss to Yan, who stopped Dvalishvili from setting a UFC record with four successful defenses in a calendar year. Both men had angled for a trilogy bout before the official announcement, though Yan’s return has been delayed by back surgery.
With the top 2 fighters in the division on hold, the rest of the top 10 has seen considerable movement, including Song Yadong scoring a dramatic knockout of one-time title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov, and Mario Bautista bumping past Cory Sandhagen in the rankings. Dvalishvili is excited for what this means for him after he’s done with Yan.
“Division keeps going,” Dvalishvili said. “I love this. You have a lot of good guys like Raul Rosas. I’m friends with him, he’s a cool guy, very strong. There are lots of young, tough fighters in this division.
“Now we have a new contender, Song Yadong, I’m not going to say he gives me chills, but he makes me excited because he hits hard. He really hits like a truck and I want to test that.”
Dvalishvili is fully focused on Yan, but still has time to campaign for his close friend Aljamain Sterling, the former bantamweight champion currently working towards a title shot at 145 pounds. Sterling is 3-1 at featherweight and has targeted fan favorite Jean Silva for a bout to determine who faces the winner of the UFC 333 main event between champion Alexander Volkanovski and the undefeated Movsar Evloev.
“That’s the fight to make, for me,” Dvalishvil said. “All respect to Jean Silva, but Aljo is here, too, and I think the winner vs. Volkanovski or Movsar. … You can’t skip Aljo.”
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