Laura Sanko thinks Petr Yan would have a hard time taking the bantamweight title from Merab Dvalishvili in a potential rematch.
It appears Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) could get the chance to avenge a March 2023 loss to Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA, 14-2 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 221 main event. “The Machine” shot a single-fight UFC record 49 takedowns in that bout, with Yan successfully thwarting 38 of them, but still dropping a lopsided unanimous decision.
Yan recently claimed he entered that fight with a hand injury and was only operating at “50 percent.” UFC commentator and analyst Sanko said that might be a truthful revelation, but it doesn’t make her feel significantly better about Yan’s chances.
“Maybe I tend to believe him,” Sanko told MMA Junkie. “He’s looked phenomenal. I don’t know if stylistically you can change that much, especially with Merab getting better as well. That’s a big gap to close.”
“He’s got a great chin, his defense is getting better and better. There was a time where that was the obvious game plan against Merab, and it felt realistic (to knock him out). The beginning of this run, the first few fights of this run. I remember him getting rocked and almost out of there then he finds a way to wrestling again. You don’t worry about that as much any time, even though it’s obviously on the table. He has become incredibly well-rounded.”
Although Sanko thinks Dvalishvili is a difficult skill-for-skill matchup for Yan, she admits variables could sway the trajectory of the fight. Dvalishvili wants to book the rematch for December, which would mark his fourth title defense of 2025. That degree of activity could create vulnerabilities, but Sanko also somewhat doubts that, because Dvalishvili is “cut from a different mold.”
Even if he doesn’t defend again this year, Sanko said Dvalishvili has put together a phenomenal run. She thinks he is 2025 Fighter of the Year, despite leaving the door somewhat open if Jack Della Maddalena can defend the welterweight belt against Islam Makhachev at UFC 322 on Nov. 15.
“He definitely makes the conversation interesting,” Sanko said. “100 percent he makes the conversation interesting, but I have to give it to Merab. To be able to be that active as a champion, and I saw this every time – to operate on the championship level is one thing. To be able to continue to evolve in a noticeable way, as a champion, is otherworldly. The fact that the guy continues to add tools to the tool belt, becoming more of a finisher, he’s just becoming more and more dangerous, which is only going to increase his stardom. I think he’s got Fighter of the Year.”
To hear more from Sanko, check out her complete appears on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
