Petr Yan is relishing his new title after UFC 323.
On Saturday, Yan authored one of the best performances of the year, battering Merab Dvalishvili to claim the bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 323. It was an unexpected performance from Yan, who lost a one-sided decision to Dvalishvili when they fought in 2023, and made him the third man to win the bantamweight title twice, something he is very happy about.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Yan said at the post-fight press conference. “With rematches, as I said before, I do better. It’s like I’m more intelligent in rematches. And, of course, this [belt] is the motivation.”
Heading into the bout, Dvalishvili had already amassed three title defenses and had many calling him the greatest bantamweight of all time. As such, most expect “The Machine” is likely to get an immediate rematch, but Yan isn’t commited to that.
“I think Merab should really just get into the Jacuzzi, think about it, and then we’ll see,” Yan said when asked about a trilogy fight.
“… You saw the fight of Merab vs. Umar [Nurmagomedov]. You saw the way that fight went. So, who’s more dangerous? They can rematch, and then we can see what happens.”
While there certainly is some tension between Yan and Dvalishvili that likely plays a role in Yan’s position, there’s also the matter of Yan’s experience. After losing the title to Dvalishvili’s teammate Aljamain Sterling via disqualification, Yan then lost the rematch with Sterling and a decision to Sean O’Malley. After that, Yan had to win three in a row to get back in line for a title shot, and he seems to have an issue with the long road back to the belt.
“Understand the fact that for me to get the opportunity to fight for the belt again, the UFC made me go three more fights before I was able to get to the contender position again,” Yan said.
Ultimately, though, it seems Yan is prepared to defend his title against whoever the UFC puts in front of him, and adopted one of the catchphrases of his fellow Russian champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, to show his intentions as a champion.
“I don’t care. I flew 30 hours to get here,” Yan said. “I don’t care. Put me in Alaska, anywhere. Twelve-hour time difference, completely different climates, continents, just tell me where, that’s it. Give me location.”
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