Bitter rivals to settle trilogy at Etihad Arena on Saturday with bantamweight title on the line

For a former UFC champion, the fighter with the most takedowns in company history and a man whose face is plastered across billboards around Abu Dhabi advertising UFC 333, Merab Dvalishvili hardly needed to introduce himself to the assembled media. He did it anyway.

“Hello everybody. My name is Merab Dvalishvili.” The Georgian cut a suave figure in a brown tailored suit, an expensive watch and a permanent smile. He was jovial and playful, joking about riding motorcycles and horses with Sean Strickland.

It was in stark contrast to his opponent. If Dvalishvili’s vibe was light, Petr Yan’s was heavy. Dressed in a black baseball cap and UFC apparel, Yan exuded a brooding, smouldering intensity. He said Dvalishvili should not even be in line to face him this Saturday for a shot at his UFC bantamweight belt.

Read More Arrow

“Song Yadong is really more deserving of a title fight, to be honest,” the Russian champion said through a translator. “I do not choose my opponents. Whoever the company gives me, that's who I fight.”

Make no mistake, Dvalishvili and Yan do not like each other. One does a passable job of disguising his disdain; the other wears it like a badge of honour.

If all fights are personal, in the sense that both combatants are trying to inflict maximum pain and damage on each other, this one carries an extra edge. The two meet for the third time in their careers at Etihad Arena on Saturday, with one win apiece. It is billed as the co-main event but could easily headline the card, with no disrespect intended to Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev.

Trash talk dominated the build-up to their first two encounters, and there have been plenty of barbs fired this time around, too, mostly from Yan.

“I'm really excited to fight Petr Yan; the title is secondary,” said Dvalishvili. “His trash talk and his disrespect doesn't bother me because the most important thing is to get the win against him and answer that way.

“I'm not here to show who is the better person. I'm here to show who is the better fighter.”

Abu Dhabi will bring the trilogy - which began three years ago - to a close. Back then, Dvalishvili took a unanimous decision over Yan, a result the Russian heavily disputed. Before that bout, Dvalishvili had made the extreme claim that he would kill himself if he lost to Yan.

Having suffered defeat the last time the two met, the Georgian has adopted a much more measured approach this time around.

“No, the first fight was very important; it was really personal. But right now I'm a different person, at a different stage [in life]. That time it was a different situation,” Dvalishvili said.

“But right now, I just want to win the fight. I can see now if I lose, it's gonna just be a loss. And it's possible, of course. Petr Yan is a dangerous guy.

“Even when we fought the last time, I was the one who said he deserved the fight with me. He's the most dangerous guy.

“And of course, I knew I could lose this fight, but I still take this risk. I'm not saying that I'm not gonna lose. Every time I fight, there is a chance that I lose. It's possible. But I'm not gonna kill myself.”

▶

Yan produced the performance of a lifetime when the two met last December at UFC 323. He literally took the breath away from Dvalishvili with crunching body shots and broke his opponent's spirit by repeatedly denying his takedown attempts.

Dvalishvili had taken that bout just two months after beating Corey Sandhagen. It was his third successful title defence, bringing him level with his good friend Aljamain Sterling, who was in attendance to support him and will also corner Dvalishvili on Saturday.

The Yan rematch was Dvalishvili's fourth fight of 2025. Most champions defend their belts no more than twice a year. Dvalishvili admitted in an earlier interview with The National that it had been a mistake to take on Yan so soon after his win over Sandhagen.

A fighter renowned for his cardio and work ethic simply ran out of steam. Dvalishvili conceded that he knew he was losing the fight after the second round. He said he would take a different approach to Saturday's contest.

“I'm not really focused on the takedown. I have a different strategy. I think it's gonna be domination this time, like it was the first time. I have a different game plan, and I can't wait to show everyone, and I can't wait to raise my hand.”

Yan said that, regardless of what Dvalishvili brings to the octagon, he will emerge victorious.

“He has his own thoughts, his own ideas, his own plan,” he said. “I'm not really interested in what he has to do. I have a plan, and my plan is to come out there and win.”

Yan underwent major back surgery in January following his win over Dvalishvili. Sean O'Malley, who knows both fighters well having faced Dvalishvili twice and Yan once, believes Yan has made a mistake by taking the fight and needs more time to recover.

“If I am here, I am 100 per cent ready to fight,” Yan snapped when asked for his thoughts.

There is no need for either man to raise the stakes. They have already fought twice, shared one victory apiece and spent the best part of three years trading blows and barbs. On Saturday, at Etihad Arena, there will be nowhere left to hide.