Yan vows to break Dvalishvili's nose again as UFC 333 trilogy looms in Abu Dhabi

Bantamweight champion Petr Yan has issued a blunt warning to Merab Dvalishvili ahead of their trilogy fight in the co-main event of UFC 333 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Speaking at the pre-fight press conference, Yan promised to break his rival’s nose for a second time and dismantle him “one detail at a time.”

“This machine is going to be taken apart,” Yan said. “I will come here, and I will break his nose one more time.”

The two fighters have split their previous meetings in contrasting fashion. When they first met in 2023, Dvalishvili dominated Yan across five rounds. Yan reversed that outcome decisively in December at UFC 323, beating up Dvalishvili to claim the bantamweight title — a result that sets the stakes for Saturday’s decider.

The central tactical question heading into the trilogy is whether Dvalishvili can restore the grappling dominance he showed in their first encounter. In that fight, he scored 11 takedowns; in the rematch, he managed just two. Yan is confident the pattern will hold.

“Last time he tried, like, 30, 40 takedowns against me; he couldn’t take me down once,” Yan said. “He tried to be a striker with me, and you saw what happened. He’ll try to grab my leg, he’ll try whatever he can — nothing is going to work.”

Despite winning the title in their last meeting, Yan insists he is treating this as a fresh challenge rather than a defence of proven ground.

“For me, it’s a new fight,” he said. “I don’t want to think about my last fight. Today, I have a big goal. I want to smash this guy. I want to defend my title. I always fight with a plan. My team puts together a plan. We are surgical; we take everything apart.”

With one win apiece and the bantamweight title on the line, UFC 333 offers a definitive answer to who rules the 135-pound division.