Dvalishvili urges Yan to 'come back soon' as UFC trilogy stalls and home wrestling debut looms

Merab Dvalishvili is growing anxious waiting for his UFC trilogy fight with Petr Yan, telling MMA Fighting he has not heard a single word from either the promotion or the reigning bantamweight champion about when the bout might be scheduled. With the UFC calendar already filled through August, the former 135-pound champion is left in limbo.

“I guess I’m not fighting in August and I haven’t heard anything from Petr Yan,” Dvalishvili said. “I’m just waiting for him and I’m praying he’s coming back soon. Petr, come back soon, bro. Let’s fight. I want to fight. Let’s go.”

The original hold-up centred on Yan suffering an injury that delayed his return to competition. Dvalishvili has used the downtime to recover from his own nagging issues, though he added to them by breaking his nose twice — once in training and once during a recent wrestling match. He was relaxed about the setback, saying the nose has since healed and that he is not concerned about it affecting his availability.

With the Yan fight on ice, Dvalishvili has been competing in freestyle wrestling through the RAF promotion. After defeating UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar on debut, he now faces a considerably stiffer test: Olympic gold medallist Henry Cejudo, with the bout taking place in Georgia on Saturday.

The match was originally scheduled for an earlier RAF event before Cejudo withdrew for undisclosed reasons. Dvalishvili acknowledges that competing in front of a home crowd for the first time since 2010 brings its own weight.

“This is pressure for sure,” he said. “I haven’t competed in my country since 2010. It’s going to be exciting but maybe a little bit stressful, too, because I can’t lose in front of my people. It’s going to be hard. Who knows?”

Dvalishvili did defeat Cejudo by unanimous decision in an MMA bout, taking him down repeatedly on the way to eventually capturing the UFC bantamweight title. This contest, however, is a different discipline entirely. In freestyle wrestling, Cejudo’s Olympic pedigree makes Dvalishvili a clear underdog — a role reversal from their MMA meeting.

Despite the pressure, Dvalishvili is embracing the occasion and has promised to celebrate in style if he gets the result. He said he plans to make Cejudo “get drunk” with him in Georgia after the match, suggesting he is confident enough to be thinking about the post-fight festivities already.