Dvalishvili vows to abandon Yan's game plan and reclaim bantamweight title at UFC 333

Merab Dvalishvili says he handed Petr Yan the UFC 323 rematch by abandoning the relentless takedown game that won him their first fight, and he is determined not to repeat that mistake when the pair meet in a bantamweight title trilogy at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on October 24.

“I think the second fight I was fighting his fight,” Dvalishvili told MMA Fighting. “I was in front of him and then exchanged the boxing, but this time I will just be myself. I think I’ll be much sharper and I know I can beat this guy. He hits hard, he is good, he’s shown, so it’s going to be a good fight. I’m excited.”

Yan’s virtuoso performance at UFC 323 ended Dvalishvili’s bantamweight title reign and made him a two-time champion. Before that defeat, Dvalishvili had successfully defended the belt three times in a row and was on course to set a UFC record of four successful defenses in a single calendar year — a milestone Yan’s victory denied him.

The trilogy has been in the works for some time, though Yan’s return was pushed back by back surgery. Now that the bout is confirmed as the co-main event of UFC 333, Dvalishvili is clear-eyed about what went wrong and what needs to change.

While the top two fighters in the division have been sidelined, the bantamweight rankings have shifted considerably beneath them. Song Yadong’s dramatic knockout of Umar Nurmagomedov has created a new contender, and Mario Bautista has moved past Cory Sandhagen in the standings. Dvalishvili is already looking ahead to what a win over Yan would mean for the division.

“Division keeps going,” he said. “I love this. You have a lot of good guys like Raul Rosas. There are lots of young, tough fighters in this division. Now we have a new contender, Song Yadong — I’m not going to say he gives me chills, but he makes me excited because he hits hard. He really hits like a truck and I want to test that.”

Dvalishvili is also lobbying for his close friend and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who is 3-1 at featherweight and has targeted Jean Silva for a bout to determine the next challenger at 145 pounds. The UFC 333 main event pits featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski against the undefeated Movsar Evloev.

“That’s the fight to make, for me,” Dvalishvili said. “All respect to Jean Silva, but Aljo is here, too, and I think the winner vs. Volkanovski or Movsar — you can’t skip Aljo.”