Peter Yan that he loses.
Dvalishvili (21-5) defeated Yan (20-5) in his first match in 2023 and won
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title in September 2024. Georgia was a heavy favorite when he defended his belt in their rematch.
UFC 323 last December.
However, Yan thwarted Dvalishvili’s takedown attempts and overpowered him to earn a unanimous decision. Before their trilogy fight, “The Machine” watched the rematch, saying that he already knew in the second round that he wasn’t going to win.
Merab Dvalishvili explains how Petr Yan’s takedown defense changed their UFC 323 rematch ahead of the UFC 333 trilogy
Yan defends his title against Dvalishvili at
UFC 333 On October 24 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The challenger said a failed takedown in the second round made him question his chances of winning their previous encounter.
Realizing he couldn’t force his fight on Yan, Dvalishvili focused on enjoying the fight.
“In the second round I came back, I planned to knock him down,” said Dvalishvili in an interview with the Paramount+ newspaper. “I shot and I really tried and he defended my takedown again. In 10 seconds all my energy came out. And then I thought, ‘What now?’ I don’t think I can take him down, and I’m going to put up a good fight.” And then I just fought… I hit him; he got me. And then, in the second round, I tried to take him down; I couldn’t. I said, “P*ck no, what am I supposed to do now?” And then I just had fun. I said, “I’m going to have fun and I’m going to enjoy the fight.” I realized in the second fight that I’m not going to win this fight and I’m just going to enjoy the fight.
