Din Thomas says giving Merab Dvalishvili a third fight against Petr Yan is the right thing to do and believes the UFC will come through.
Dvalishvili (21-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) opted to defend his bantamweight title a fourth time in 2025 by rematching Yan (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) at UFC 323 earlier this month, but he lost the fight and title. He claimed the UFC told him a trilogy with Yan is next.
Advertisement
Although Sean O’Malley is looking to get a rematch with Yan if he beats Song Yadong at UFC 324, and Umar Nurmagomedov could get a shot with a win over Deiveson Figueiredo, Thomas doesn’t see Dvalishvili getting passed up.
“I think Merab is going to get the fight next,” Thomas told MMA Junkie. “I really do believe Merab is going to get the fight next. I think they kind of owe it to him because Merab didn’t even have to take that fight. It almost felt like Merab was doing them a favor by taking a fight at the end of the year.
“Merab is a dog. I’m sure he didn’t look at it as, ‘Oh, I’m doing them a favor.’ Merab wanted to fight, but I’m sure when Merab was like, ‘I’ll fight in the last show,’ I’m sure the UFC was like, ‘Phew, now we don’t have to worry about booking a headliner. Merab will do it.’ So, I think the UFC will give this one back to Merab regardless what happens with O’Malley and Umar.”
More: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Petr Yan, Merab Dvalishvili after UFC 323?
Advertisement
Yan stuffed almost all of Dvalishvili’s takedowns and inflicted heavy damage on the feet, which makes Thomas wonder what adjustments Dvalishvili could make to avenge the loss.
“(Yan) looked so good that I almost don’t know if Merab could get it back,” Thomas said. “I almost don’t know if he can, and if he’s better than Merab, I don’t know who beats him.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Analyst: UFC ‘owes’ Merab Dvalishvili trilogy vs. Petr Yan
