Merab Dvalishvili has stated his eagerness to face Petr Yan in a trilogy fight as early as next week, however, he acknowledges that Yan is not yet prepared for the bout.
Following their rematch at UFC 323, where Dvalishvili aimed to secure a historic fourth title defense in a year, Yan demonstrated he had a strategic answer to “The Machine’s” persistent pressure. Yan successfully defended against Dvalishvili’s takedowns, landed superior strikes, and secured a unanimous decision victory, thus taking the bantamweight title.
The UFC had initially promised Dvalishvili an immediate rematch after his title loss. However, Petr Yan’s subsequent lower back surgery has led to a delay in the trilogy bout. Currently, Dvalishvili remains uncertain about when the fight will take place.
In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Dvalishvili shared his current situation: “I don’t hear anything from him [Petr Yan]. He don’t want to fight yet. I don’t know what is the situation. We all see his interview, he was ready in June for the White House but they have already announced the July fight card. They’re going to announce the August fight card soon… They haven’t told me anything. All I know is I’m fighting Yan but I don’t know when. I don’t know the time. It looks like Petr is taking his time.”
Despite the ambiguity surrounding his next fight, Dvalishvili emphasized his commitment to staying prepared. He mentioned that once he regains the championship, he intends to remain as active as he was previously. “Hey, this is the game we’re in. Sometimes you have to wait. When I was champion, I can push the UFC, I can tell [them] ‘hey, UFC keep me busy, I want to fight soon’ and the UFC keeps me busy. Now I’m not a champion and I have to wait for my opponent. This is the game. This is the situation and I understand. That’s why I was rushing and when I have the opportunity to fight more often, I’ll still do the same. But now unfortunately I have to wait for him.”
He added, “I’m waiting for Petr Yan patiently. He’s taking his time and let’s see when the champion wants to come back and fight me… I’m training always. It doesn’t matter if I have a fight or not. I’m always training like I’m preparing for the fight. To be honest, I don’t know what’s different between having [training] camp or not having camp. I’m always ready. If they give me a fight next week, I am ready.”