Yan (21-5) defeated Dvalishvili (21-6) by unanimous decision in their trilogy bout Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, with all three judges scoring it 48-47 for the champion. Dvalishvili outworked Yan in the first two rounds before “No Mercy” turned the tide over the final three.
Petr Yan explains how takedown defense turned UFC 333 trilogy against Merab Dvalishvili
Dvalishvili dominated their first meeting in 2023, outwrestling Yan en route to a one-sided decision victory. Yan avenged that defeat last December, winning a unanimous decision to dethrone “The Machine.” Having shared the Octagon for 50 minutes before UFC 333, Yan knew what to expect in the rubber match.
Yan said he anticipated Dvalishvili trying to overwhelm him with wrestling pressure, as the former champion had in their first encounter. After a slow start, the Russian increased his output in the third round and increasingly frustrated the Georgian challenger’s offense.
“I knew that he was going to pressure forward; I knew that he was going to throw a million takedowns at me,” Yan said in a postfight interview. “I realized that the second I was going to be able to defend those, he was going to break. Something is going to switch in his head when he's going to understand that he's not going to be able to do what he planned to do.”
"I had the pressure and I could've just given up." Petr Yan (@PetrYanUFC) secures his first successful title defense to close out his trilogy with Merab Dvalishvili at #UFC333 Main Card Results ➡️ https://t.co/sBG9QXkS3p @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi https://t.co/hzJK6KMsfG— UFC News (@UFCNews) October 24, 2026