With Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili set to face off for the third time in the Co-main event of UFC 333, the fight will serve as one of the biggest bouts in UFC Bantamweight history and will be a legacy defining fight for both men. Merab will be looking to reclaim his title from the man who took the belt from him back in December of last year in one of the most entertaining fights of the year.
The first fight between the pair saw Merab dominate the bout with his relentless wrestling which saw saw Merab shoot 49 takedown in 25 minutes. Merab’s cardio was seemingly too much for Yan to handle and eventually led to the Georgian winning a unanimous decision. If reports are to be believed, Yan entered that bout with a broken right hand which is seemingly true when watching the bout back, as Yan rarely used that hand against Merab.
In their second bout, Yan looked much more like his old self as he flooded Merav with a range of strikes and even landed five takedown of his own. Of course, he did not have it all his on way with Merab landing 134 significant strikes during the fight however, Yan’s strikes seemingly had more power and his ability to mix it up meant that he was able to secure the decision.
Yan has always been a fan favourite. His fights are usually very entertaining and his style seemingly has no weaknesses. Whilst many often point to the likes of Ilia Topuria as the best striker in the UFC, perhaps Yan has the claim to that accolade. He has a huge array of weapons on the feet and he is always very defensively astute. He had seemingly lost his way following a three-fight lossing streak against Aljamain Sterling, Sean O’Malley and Merab however, he has bounced back to championship form and has put together a four-fight winning streak.
For Merab, he will have had about ten months out of the Octagon when this fight takes place. His loss against Yan was his fourth fight of 2025. His activity as a champion was appreciated by many. Time off is perhaps the best thing for Merab. Two wins against Sean O’Malley, as well as wins against Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov during his title reign were very impressive. His pace is rarely matched and his ability to use boxing and wrestling together make him a formidable opponent.
Rematches are rarely the same and that can be seen in the second fight between these two. This fight will serve as a legacy defining moment. Perhaps the winner of this one will have a claim to being called the greatest Bantamweight of all time, or at least be well setup to continue their career in that direction.
