Belal Muhammad praises Merab Dvalishvili’s toughness against Petr Yan

Belal Muhammad believes most fighters would have quit with the shots Merab Dvalishvili faced against Petr Yan. Dvalishvili (21-5) put his bantamweight title on the line for the fourth time this year against Yan (20-5) at UFC 323 earlier this month in Las Vegas. While Dvalishvili was an underdog going into the fight, Yan put on a well-rounded clinic to pull off an upset win. Yan delivered several kicks and punches to Dvalishvili’s liver during the fight, causing the Georgian to wince in pain.

Mohammed praised Dvalishvili for going the distance despite the damage he suffered against Yan. The former welterweight champion believes the body shots Dvalishvili absorbed would have folded most fighters. However, Mohammed slammed Dvalishvili’s corner for inaccurately telling him he was winning the fight.

No stopping

“He got to pieces,” Mohammed said on YouTube. “He got hit with a couple of body shots. His recovery is wild. How did he ever recover from those shots. Real fighters know that when you get hit in the liver, a clean shot, 90% of guys drop to one knee and fold. He was making noises, but he was still standing. He had no stopping in him; he went all the way to the end. His corner was a little weird when they told him, ‘We think you win 2-0, 3-0.'”Dvalishvili’s loss to Yan ended a 14-fight winning streak. Meanwhile, Yan is on a four-fight winning streak since his last loss to Dvalishvili in their first meeting in 2023. While Dvalishvili claims he is assured of an immediate rematch, Yan wants “The Machine” to pass one more test for a shot at his title.