Bantamweight champion Petr Yan and former titleholder Merab Dvalishvili faced off in a trilogy fight in the UFC 333 co-main event on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
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 setting up a third fight.
Yan took the center of the cage and inched forward. Dvalishvili landed first with a leg kick. Dvaishvili stepped in the pocket with a clean right hand. He looked for a takedown but Yan defended the attempt. Dvalishvili landed a right hand and worked to get the fight to the ground. Yan shook it off. Dvalishvili again looked for a takedown. Yan again stayed upright. Dvalishvili employed a high output offense. Yan defended another takedown attempt. Yan connected with a left. Dvalishvili answered with a right hand and a takedown. Yan immediately got back to his feet. Dvalishvili ducked under a punch and secured a takedown. Yan got back to his feet but remained in the clinch. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Dvalishvili.
Dvalishvili opened the second frame with a leg kick. He bounced on the outside. Yan landed a right hand and pressed forward. Dvalishvili connected with a right hand and timed a takedown. Yan got to his feet and separated. Dvalishvili secured another takedown. Yan scrambled back to his feet. Dvalishvili immediately looked for a takedown. Yan got up but Dvalishvili was relentless with takedown attempts. Yan inched forward and unloaded a combination. Dvalishvili continued to work for takedowns and Yan continued to get back up. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Dvalishvili.
Yan began the third with a leg kick. Dvalishvili responded with punches. Dvalishvili continued to pressure Yan. They separated and Yan pressed forward. Yan landed to the body with a kick. Yan easily defended a takedown attempt. Dvalishvili’s output was furious. Yan connected with a hard right hand, Dvalishvili fired back. Yay kanbded a combination that had Dvalishvili diving for a takedown. Yan defended the attempt. A kick to the boy hurt Dvalishvili. Yan went to the body with another kick. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Yan.
Dvalishvili immediately looked for a takedown. Yan stuffed the attempt. Yan landed a counter left hand. Dvalishvili’s takedown attempts failed to work. Yan pressed forward. He connected with a right. A left hand to the body got Dvalishvili’s attention. Yan labnddd a clean right hand. Dvalishvili clinched but couldn’t get Yan to the ground. Yan continued to target the body. Dvalishvili responded with a right hand. Yan’s jab began finding a home. He stalked Dvalishvili. Yan landed a knee on the break. He finished the round with a kick to the body. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Yan.
Dvalishvili continued to look for takedowns and Yan continued to stop them. Dvalishvili landed a combination. Yan pressed forward and lworked for a takedown. He didn’t get it. A left hand got through Dvalishvili’s defense. Yan exploded forward with a combination. A left hand knocked Dvalishvili back. Yan followed with a kick to the body. Yan connected with a jumping knee. Dvalishvili ate it. Yan began to take control late in the frame. He landed a combination. Yan delivered another kick to the body. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Yan.
The judges scored the fight for Yan. All three judges scored the fight 48-47.