Merab Dvalishvili has built his reputation on relentless work inside the octagon and a playful streak outside it. But as he prepares to face Petr Yan again at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, the former champion says his focus is firmly on the fight: learning from their last meeting, reclaiming the belt and returning to the busy schedule he thrives on.
'The Machine' was one of the busiest fighters in 2025, defending his bantamweight title four times. He kicked off his run with a unanimous decision over Umar Nurmaogomedov, before submitting Sean O’Malley with a gorgeous north-south choke and then rag-dolling Corey Sandhagen for five successive rounds.
The win over Sandhagen saw Dvalishvili tie his close friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling for the most successful bantamweight title defences (three) and surpass the legendary Georges St-Pierre's record for most takedowns in UFC history (119 and counting).
Many fighters would have been happy to sign off, down tools and begin mapping out their fight schedule for the next 12 months. Dvalishvili opted to fight again, this time rematching with Yan, a mere two months after Sandhagen.
By his own admission, accepting the fight was a mistake, leaving Dvalishvili with little time to rest, recover and fit in a full camp.
Yan had vowed to be better than in their first meeting two years earlier, where he lost on the judges’ scorecards. The Russian was as good as his word: consummate boxing, outstanding takedown defence and devastating body shots saw him take a unanimous decision. In Las Vegas, Petr was perfect.
‘The Machine’ had metaphorically broken down. Dvalishvili, the man with cardio for days, simply ran out of gas.
Yan solved what seemed the unsolvable problem: figuring out the Dvalishvili dilemma. Some of his body shots had the Georgian wincing and wheezing in pain. The sight of Dvalishvili’s face battered and bloodied as the decision was announced, told the whole story.
“I'm not blaming that because of my loss, but I know why I lost,” Dvalishvili told The National when asked if his overexertion played a part in his loss to Yan.
“Maybe I was too relaxed, you know. I beat him already, and then when I fought again in the rematch, I have only two months between fights when I defend my belt, and as I said before, I was trying hard, but not actually smart and not actually preparing like how I should do.
“That's why I don't do what I was supposed to do in the fight; I was fighting Yan's fight, and that's why he beat the [expletive] out of me and busted me up.”
His loss to Yan ended a 14-fight win streak and necessitated a long-overdue break. He’s filled a lot of that time by entertaining his nearly 3 million Instagram followers with hilarious sketches alongside Sterling and his UFC content creator partner Nina Marie Daniele.
Dvalishvili, 35, says social media offers him an outlet, a break from hitting pads, slamming on mats and constant drills. It gives him a chance to show his comedic side.
“I like to balance between hard training and fun content because, you know, training is hard and most of the time it's the same thing, just grinding, wrestling, improving, sparring, and I don't want to post about training and sparring, and I don't want to show people how hard I work. But I do want to make people laugh and give them good times and make them smile,” he said.
He still trained – of course he still trained. UFC commentator Daniel Cormier often recounts the time when he went to visit Dvalishvili the day after a title fight, only to be left waiting around for hours as the Georgian was out running.
Much of his life is spent around Sterling. They corner each other for fights and refused to fight each other during Sterling’s run as bantamweight champion.
“Aljamain Sterling is a great guy, great human being, and of course, we all know how good a fighter he is. We are brothers, we train together, we have fun together. I know his whole family, he knows my family, and then all my other friends, my other teammates, we are brothers too. We try to help each other and motivate each other. This is the life.”
After a punishing 2025 schedule, Dvalishvili has limited himself to one fight this year, against Yan. Neither has fought since that Las Vegas showdown 10 months ago. Abu Dhabi will settle the trilogy.
This will be Dvalishvili’s first time fighting in the UAE capital and Yan’s fourth. Despite the Georgian’s outsized persona and online popularity, it is the Russian who is most likely to enjoy the majority of the support.
“I have support everywhere I go. Of course, in Abu Dhabi, I will have support too. But I'm a professional fighter. When I first fought in America, nobody in the arena [knew me], but I still won. It's always good when we have support, but even if Yan's fans will be more, that's cool. I'm fine with it. I'm just going to focus on the win.”
The defeat to Yan humbled Dvalishvili and he respects the Russian’s skill set. The head-to-head reads one win apiece, but with plenty of rest and with a full camp behind him, Dvalishvili (21-5) said he is determined to settle the debate once and for all. He believes that he will leave Etihad Arena champion once again, and plans on fighting "at least three times" in 2027.
“The past is the past. I don't regret anything; whatever I do, I do and I move on. I had a lot of time to think about [fighting Yan again], and I want my belt back. I want to avenge my loss. I know what mistakes I made [in the second fight], and I know how to beat him,” Dvalishvili said.
“His striking’s good, his takedown defence is good, and his cardio is good. He never gives up, but I believe I've been training super hard, and I'm very well prepared this time. And I will be much sharper, much better this time.
“I believe in myself. I think in Abu Dhabi we will have a new champion.”
