Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili Trade Words Ahead of UFC 333 Trilogy
Both fighters have different plans for how the third fight goes down in December.
Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili are already locked in verbally ahead of their bantamweight trilogy at UFC 333 in December, with both men convinced this one ends on their terms.
Yan recaptured the 135-pound title by handling Dvalishvili at UFC 323 last December in Las Vegas, avenging the decision loss he took to "The Machine" back in March 2023. The champion is treating the rubber match as a chance to close the book permanently. "I think that our trilogy is going to be no less exciting of a fight," Yan told media this week.
Dvalishvili, for his part, sounds like a man who has done his homework on what went wrong. "I think the second fight I was fighting his fight. I was in front of him and then exchanged the boxing, but this time I will just be myself," Dvalishvili said, per LowKick MMA.
The former champion added that he believes the adjustment will matter. "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 also had eyes on the division behind him, calling out Song Yadong as a rising threat. "Now we have a new contender, Song Yadong. He makes me excited because he hits hard," he said. The 135-pound class continues to stack up, but the title picture starts and ends with this trilogy.
UFC 333 does not yet have a confirmed venue or full date, but December is the target window for the promotion's final numbered pay-per-view of the year.
This is the best trilogy in bantamweight history and it is not close. Yan looked like a different animal at UFC 323, but Merab admitting he fought Yan's fight in the rematch tells me he has a real adjustment to make. If Dvalishvili goes back to smothering pressure and cardio wrestling, Yan has to solve a completely different puzzle than the one he cracked last time.
I lean Yan because his hands are just sharper and he showed championship composure under fire, but counting out Merab is a losing bet historically. The man does not break mentally. If this lands in December as planned, it is the fight of the winter and probably the best title fight the UFC can book right now. Expect a coin-flip line by fight week.
