Merab Dvalishvili says he has been told his next fight will be a trilogy bout against Petr Yan.
At UFC 323, Dvalishvili (21-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) lost the bantamweight title by unanimous decision in a rematch against Yan (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC), ending a 14-fight winning streak that included three title defenses. Now with one win apiece, it appears the promotion wants to make a third meeting the next fight for both.
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“The UFC contacted me and said, please rest as long as you want, your next fight is a rematch with Petr Yan for the belt,” Dvalishvili said in Georgian (via MMA Pros Pick on X). “Rest as long as you want and call us when you’re ready.”
Dvalishvili attempted to make history at UFC 323 by recording a fourth title defense in a calendar year. Unfortunately, he came up short due to Yan pulling off a bit of history of his own, becoming the first fighter to lose a title, go on a three-fight skid, and fight his way back to reclaim gold.
The fight itself was a hard one, in which Dvalishvili appeared to be hurt by the body attacks of Yan. However, Dvalishvili says he sustained no significant damage and would like the trilogy bout to take place sooner rather than later.
“They probably want to do the fight in the summer, but I don’t want to wait until the summer,” Dvalishvili said. “I’ll repeat once again, I didn’t get any serious injuries from this fight. Anyways, I want to schedule the fight early, maybe in the spring in April would be good, or maybe the fight can be scheduled in the summer.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Merab Dvalishvili targeting spring trilogy vs. Petr Yan
