Petr Yan insists first win over Merab ‘wasn’t a fluke,’ plans for score-settling knockout in UFC 333

UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan recaptured the 135-pound crown by handily defeating Merab Dvalishvili atop the UFC 323 pay-per-view (PPV) event last December in Las Vegas. The victory avenged his “Sin City” loss to “The Machine” back in March 2023.

Don’t worry, nobody died.

“I think that [our trilogy] is going to be no less exciting of a fight,” Yan told MMA Fighting. “I think it’s going to be just as exciting. And I think this time around, I want to prove myself and also to everybody else that [my first win] wasn’t a fluke, that there was a reason for that. And hopefully this time, it’s going to be a knockout.”

Yan and Dvalishvili co-headline UFC 333 next month in Abu Dhabi.

“To be honest, I’ve been watching the division and nothing really impresses me because yeah, some people are winning, some people are losing, but let’s say Song (Yadong) and Umar (Nurmagomedov): Song knocked out Umar, but I’ve beaten Song already,” Yan said. “So there’s really not all that much that I’m impressed with. Same kind of people swirling around, so I’m happy to come out and fight everybody and beat everybody.”

Assuming he can stay healthy long enough to register another title defense.