Merab Dvalishvili Knew He Would Lose Rematch With Petr Yan

Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili knew when he would lose his rematch against Petr Yan last year at UFC 323.

Despite dominating the pair’s first bout in 2023 and entering the rematch as the favorite, things did not go well for Dvalishvili, who was picked apart by Yan and lost his title in the pair’s rematch last December.

According to the Georgian, he can remember exactly when he would lose the fight and drop his belt to the rival Russian.

Merab Dvalishvili Pinpoints When He Knew He Would Lose to Petr Yan

Speaking to Paramount+ ahead of his trilogy bout against Yan at UFC 333, Dvalishvili pinpointed exactly when he knew he would lose against Yan.

“I think second round, I came back to the plan of I’m going to take him down, and I shot at him, and I really tried, and he defended again my takedowns. In 10 seconds, all my energy came out and then I’m like, ‘What now? I don’t think I can take him down. I’m going to have to just fight.’ Then I was just fighting. Plan was to do whatever I want,” Dvalishvili said (via MMAjunkie.com).

“I said I can strike with him, and if I want, I can take him down. I was striking with him, he got me and then second round, I tried to take him down and I wasn’t able to. I’m like, ‘What should I do now?’ Then I was just having fun, and I’m going to enjoy the fight. I realized in the second fight, I was not going to win this fight, and I was just going to enjoy the fight.”

Petr Yan Favored to Win Trilogy Bout at UFC 333

Per the latest betting odds ahead of UFC 333, Yan is favored to defeat Dvalishvili in their trilogy matchup.

Yan is a -180 favorite at the moment, with Dvalishvili as a +155 betting underdog.

It should be a very intriguing trilogy bout given the pair split their first two fights, and it all goes down at UFC 333, which takes place on Saturday, October 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

This article was originally published on HEAVY

The post Merab Dvalishvili Knew He Would Lose Rematch With Petr Yan appeared first on HEAVY.