Merab Dvalishvili continued to call out to Petr Yan:
“Great fight, Petr. I like your call, and I like your respect. Let’s go again in two years. March 8th, T-Mobile. Now let’s go.”
🎥 @MerabDvalishvil
#UFC
#mixed martial artspic.twitter.com/pKx2kxwAYC
— Championship Round (@ChampRDS)
November 23, 2024
Merab Dvalishvili hopes to defend his title against Petr Yan next.
Yan earned a shutout victory over former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC Macau on Saturday. Yan then requested a rematch with Dvalishvili, but Dvalishvili defeated him by unanimous decision in March 2023. Dvalishvili wasted no time in accepting a rematch with “No Mercy”. “The Machine” hopes to defend his bantamweight strap against Yan at UFC 313 on March 18th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“Great fight, Petr. I like your call and I like your respect,” Dvalishvili said in a video on social media. “Let’s go again in two years. March 8th, T-Mobile. Let’s go.”
Dvalishvili won the title with a unanimous decision win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in September of this year. Coach Umar Nurmagomedov has since sent Dvalishvili out, but the Georgian instead rallied for a rematch with O’Malley. According to Dvalishvili, the undefeated Dagestani doesn’t deserve a title shot yet and only has a chance because he is the cousin of the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili appears to have now shifted his focus to Yan, but is adamant about not fighting Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili defended Yan’s call-up and urged fans to watch the Russian’s performance against “Deus da Guerra” at UFC Macau before jumping to conclusions.
“Guys, did you watch the entire Yan vs. Figueiredo match?! I’m sure many of you missed it due to the time difference, but it’s a must-see,” Dvalishvili wrote in a now-deleted tweet. “Please don’t comment unless you’ve witnessed Jan’s work. He looked absolutely unstoppable.”
Nurmagomedov was not surprised by Dvalishvili’s cheers.
Umar Nurmagomedov reacts to Merab Dvalishvili’s criticism of Petr Yan after his win
#UFCMacau:
“No one is surprised.”#UFC
#mixed martial arts
pic.twitter.com/CrJmsKG2sJ
— Championship Round (@ChampRDS)
November 23, 2024
Dvalishvili is currently on an 11-fight winning streak, 10 of which have come at bantamweight. Yan, on the other hand, has gone through a tough time since losing his title to Aljamain Sterling in 2021, dropping four of his five matches, albeit in elite competition. However, he bounced back with consecutive wins over Yadong Song and Figueiredo. Nurmagomedov has six wins in the UFC, the most notable of which was a unanimous decision over Cory Sandhagen in August of this year.
