This is the UFC 333 live blog for Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili 3, the bantamweight championship co-main event Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Yan is currently the No. 2 ranked fighter in the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings, while Dvalishvili stands at No. 10.
This is the third meeting between Yan (20-5) and Dvalishvili (21-5). Dvalishvili first defeated Yan by decision in the main event of a Fight Night event in March 2023. He went on to become bantamweight champion and in 2025 sought to become the first fighter to successfully defend a UFC title four times in a calendar year, but was foiled by Yan, who put on an incredible performance to regain his belt and avenge his loss to Dvalishvili this past December.
Yan has won four straight since breaking out of a three-fight slump that pushed him to the outer edge of the contender conversation. Prior to beating Dvalishvili, he scored convincing wins over ranked opponents Marcus McGhee, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Song Yadong.
Dvalishvili’s loss to Yan not only ended his title reign, it snapped a 14-fight win streak. He seeks to put an exclamation point on their trilogy and begin another dominant run atop the 135-pound division.
Check out the UFC 333 live blog for Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili 3 below.
Preamble
A UFC title is on the line now for a trilogy between Yan and Dvalishvili, and the UFC announces a pair of title bouts for UFC 336 on Jan. 30 with flyweight king Joshua Van vs. Manel Kape and Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales battling for an interim strap. Wow!
Yan and Dvalishvili have said time and time again that they were compromised when they fought previously, and are 1-1 against each other under the UFC banner.