The UFC 333 co-main event features a championship trilogy bout between bantamweight champion Petr Yan and former titleholder Merab Dvalishvili.
The two first fought in March 2023. Dvalishvili picked up a unanimous decision win that night in Las Vegas shutting Yan out on the scorecards. Yan avenged the loss at UFC 323 defeating Dvalishvili by unanimous decision. They’ll settle the rivalry at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Former middleweight champion and UFC broadcaster Michael Bisping gave his prediction for the world title bout on his YouTube channel.
“We know last time out Petr Yan won it fair and square. He was far more economical. He didn’t throw as much as Merab Dvalishvili, but he landed more and he took him down more. Even though he didn’t try as many takedowns, he was more economical. He was more successful in the fight, simple as that. That’s why he won,” Bisping said.
“The first time out, of course, Merab a long time ago beat him, okay? But then he became the champion and he was trying to fight and defend the belt four times in a year and he was burned out. That’s is just a fact. It didn’t affect his output, but it affects your explosively. It affects your hunger. It affects your drive. Merab was kind of on cruise control.”
The first two fights couldn’t have been more different. Dvalishvili dominated the first one while Yan largely had his way in the rematch. In the trilogy, Bisping expects the champion to retain the belt.
“Now, Merab has had time off. He coming into this one fresh as a daisy,” said Bisping. “Petr Yan has got beautiful boxing. He’s the better boxer out of the two of them. Merab Dvalishvili is a great wrestler, and he weaponizes his cardio. It’s a very, very tough fight to call.
“I love Merab Dvalishvili, but I’ve got to go with Petr Yan. I believe it will be like the last one. It’ll be closer. Merab’s going to have more success. He will land more takedowns, but the boxing is clean from Petr Yan and he’s got the mental momentum coming into this one because he beat him last time.”