Petr Yan calls Merab Dvalishvili a ‘warrior’ ahead of UFC 323 rematch
UFC bantamweight star Petr Yan has praised Merab Dvalishvili as the two prepare to go to war at UFC 323.
On Saturday night, Petr Yan will attempt to regain the UFC bantamweight championship when he challenges Merab Dvalishvili for the gold. The two will face off in the main event of UFC 323, and it will mark the second time that they have fought, with Merab picking up the win in their first meeting after putting on an absolutely insane pace throughout the course of the bout.
Now, after a few setbacks, Petr Yan is riding a three-fight win streak and he has more than proven himself worthy of a chance at dethroning Dvalishvili. Whether or not he’s actually able to do it, of course, is a different matter, especially given the run that ‘The Machine’ has been on.
In a recent media scrum, Petr Yan gave his thoughts on Merab Dvalishvili.
Petr Yan praises Merab Dvalishvili ahead of UFC 323
“My camp went really great,” Yan told MMA Junkie and other reporters through a Russian language interpreter at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I feel great. Right now, myself, I can’t wait until Saturday to show what I can really do.
“It’s no question about the fact that Merab is a great warrior. He showed with his fights that he’s a deserving champion, and he deserves to be where he’s at. But I also want to say that with my fights and my performances, I showed that there is no other clear No. 1 contender as opposed to me. I deserve to be the No. 1 contender, and I’m ready and able to fight for this title.”
“Obviously, we have a lot of information that we’ve downloaded about each other,” Yan said. “We know each other better. But if you look at my first two rematches with Magomedov and Sterling, you could see that I’m 100 percent better in the second fight. So I’m determined to make sure I’m much better in this second fight against Merab.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
Buckle up, fight fans, because this is going to be a good one.
