At UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi this Saturday, bantamweight champion Petr Yan and ex-champ Merab Dvalishvili will face off in the rubber match of their trilogy.
This time, it’s Dvalishvili who is the challenger, and to him, getting the belt back is just the icing on top. It’s the win itself, over his Russian rival, that matters.
“I’m really excited to beat Petr Yan, and title is secondary,” Dvalishvili (21-5) stated on Wednesday, speaking at the card’s media day in Abu Dhabi. “Even when I was fighting the first time against Sean O’Malley, I wanted to fight him because he was the most dangerous guy at the moment. I was focused on him, I was never focused on the belt. Same thing now. I always want to fight the best guy in my weight class, and I’m fighting the best guy in my weight class.”
“It means everything to me, and the belt will come automatically, Dvalishvili added.
Dvalishvili kept a breakneck pace last year, defending his belt three times in a calendar year then fighting Petr Yan before the year was up. Four fights in such a short span is almost unheard of for a UFC champion, but though Dvalishvili ultimately lost the belt, he has no regrets.
“I don’t regret that I was busy last year, and I’m happy even [though] I lost. It’s fine, it’s part of the sport,” he stated. “But if you ask me again to fight Petr Yan two months after I defended my belt, I’m not going to do the same thing right now. Because I needed more time against Petr Yan. Everybody else? I can fight Song Yadong in November if it makes sense.”
Watch the full UFC 333 media day appearance by Merab Dvalishvili above.
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