Dvalishvili fought Yan in March 2023 in the main event of a Fight Night card. Although Dvalishvili was the underdog going into the fight, he dominated the Russian en route to a lopsided decision.
Since then, Dvalishvili has won five more fights, including winning and now defending his bantamweight title three times. Yan, meanwhile, has won three straight fights to earn another crack at Dvalishvili.
Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan will now headline UFC 323 in Las Vegas for the bantamweight title in December. Although Dvalishvili is now the betting favorite, he does expect it to be a tougher fight as he expects Yan to correct the key mistakes he made.
Merab Dvalishvili expects Petr Yan to right wrongs at UFC 323
“The first fight I was nervous and stressful, it was pressure again to fight Petr Yan,” Dvalishvili said on television. “Believe me” podcast (via MMA Junkie). “Now I am more mature. I feel comfortable now, but I don’t want to be too comfortable because I am sure Petr Yan will correct his mistakes from the first fight.
“The biggest mistake he made was not respecting me in the first fight. He thought I couldn’t do anything against him. That was his biggest mistake. He didn’t respect me, and whatever I was better at, I’m sure he’ll fix it, and I have to be an even better version.”
Considering that they have now fought each other, Dvalishvili expects Yan to respect his wrestling and takedown moves. Whether that will change the outcome of the fight remains to be seen, but Dvalishvili expects it to be a tougher fight than their 2023 fight.
UFC 323 will take place on Saturday, December 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event sees Merab Dvalishvili defend his bantamweight title in a rematch against Petr Yan.
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