Petr Yan is confident heading into his trilogy fight with Merab Dvalishvili.
On Saturday, Yan and Dvalishvili look to settle their rivalry and answer the question of who truly reigns at bantamweight at 135 pounds in the co-main event of UFC 333. The two first met in 2023, with Dvalishvili dominating Yan over five rounds, but Yan returned the favor in December, beating up Dvalishvili to claim the bantamweight title at UFC 323. But despite his success last time out, Yan doesn’t want to dwell on it heading into Saturday.
“For me, it’s new fight,” Yan said at the UFC 333 press conference. “I don’t want to think about my last fight. Today, I have big goal. I want to smash this guy. I want to defend my title. …
“I always fight with a plan,” Yan added. “My team puts together a plan. We are surgical; we take everything apart. This machine is going to be taken apart, one detail at a time. But, trust me, I will come here, and I will break his nose one more time!”
The big difference between the first and second fights between Yan and Dvalishvili was the grappling. In their first encounter, Dvalishvili scored 11 takedowns, while in the rematch, he only managed two. And though he said this is a new fight, Yan clearly hopes to do the same this time around.
“Last time he tried, like, 30, 40 takedowns against me; he couldn’t take me down once,” Yan said. “He tried to be a striker with me, and you saw what happened. He tried to strike with me; he might as well just fire himself for that kind of striking class. So, you’ll see him try and try; he’ll try to grab my leg, he’ll try whatever he can, nothing is going to work.”
UFC 333 goes down this Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.