Merab Dvalishvili Plans to Hunt for Knockout vs. Petr Yan
Merab Dvalishvili wants to secure a knockout when he runs it back with Petr Yan this weekend at UFC 323. Dvalishvili wants to be the first UFC champion to have successfully defended the belt four times in just twelve months. With that goal in mind, he will enter the octagon on Saturday night.
The Machine’ secured a unanimous decision victory at UFC 320 against Cory Sandhagen, and before that at UFC 316, he secured a submission victory in his rematch with Sean O’Malley. This time, he has even bigger plans against Yan.
The two last fought in 2023, and the Georgian cruised to a unanimous decision victory.
Yan often starts slow and tries to step on the gas in the later rounds. However, as fans saw in the first bout, ‘No Mercy’ will find it difficult to fight at his own pace against Dvalishvili, as the Georgian controls the tempo with his constant takedown attempts, moves a lot, and trades whenever he gets a chance.
In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Merab Dvalishvili said:
“I would like to knock out my next opponent or TKO him. That would be nice… I’m getting better, and I’m improving my striking. So the first couple of fights when I started fighting in my country, I was throwing hands; I was just fighting from instinct. But now I’m much clearer, and I hit, and I don’t get hit.”
Check out Merab Dvalishvili’s comments below:
Merab Dvalishvili Weighs His Options for Next UFC Opponent
Recently, during a sit-down with Aaron Bronsteter, the reigning UFC bantamweight kingpin expressed interest in facing Aiemann Zahabi after the UFC 323 title fight. Zahabi is on a seven-fight UFC win streak and boasts wins over the legendary Jose Aldo and Marlon Vera, among others.
After beating O’Malley twice, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Cory Sandhagen, ‘The Machine’ is now looking for new challenges. He is also interested in fighting Payton Talbott and Song Yadong, provided both fighters win their upcoming bouts.
The Georgian is not interested in a rematch with Umar Nurmagomedov or a trilogy bout with O’Malley.
Check out Merab Dvalishvili’s comments below:
‘The Machine’ remains invested in the 135-pound division and does not want to move up anytime soon. Dvalishvili plans on knocking out Petr Yan this weekend and fighting early next year. He also wants to be a part of the UFC White House 2026 card.
