Petr Yan knew how to ‘break’ Merab Dvalishvili in UFC 333 trilogy

Petr
Yan overcame Merab
Dvalishvili‘s relentless wrestling pressure to retain the

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title at
UFC 333.

Yan (21-5) defeated Dvalishvili (21-6) by unanimous decision in
their trilogy bout Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, with all
three judges scoring it 48-47 for the champion. Dvalishvili
outworked Yan in the first two rounds before “No Mercy” turned the
tide over the final three.

Petr Yan explains how takedown defense turned UFC 333 trilogy
against Merab Dvalishvili

Dvalishvili dominated their first meeting in 2023, outwrestling Yan
en route to a one-sided decision victory. Yan avenged that defeat
last December, winning a unanimous decision to dethrone “The
Machine.” Having shared the Octagon for 50 minutes before UFC 333,
Yan knew what to expect in the rubber match.

Yan said he anticipated Dvalishvili trying to overwhelm him with
wrestling pressure, as the former champion had in their first
encounter. After a slow start, the Russian increased his output in
the third round and increasingly frustrated the Georgian
challenger’s offense.

“I knew that he was going to pressure forward; I knew that he was
going to throw a million takedowns at me,” Yan said in a postfight
interview. “I realized that the second I was going to be able to
defend those, he was going to break. Something is going to switch
in his head when he’s going to understand that he’s not going to be
able to do what he planned to do.”

“I had the pressure and I
could’ve just given up.” Petr Yan
(@PetrYanUFC) secures his first successful title defense to close
out his trilogy with Merab
Dvalishvili at #UFC333 Main Card Results ➡️
https://t.co/sBG9QXkS3p @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi
https://t.co/hzJK6KMsfG— UFC News (@UFCNews)
October 24, 2026