Merab Dvalishvili is willing to wait for Petr Yan and won’t take any other fight in between.
“The Machine” recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show, and reaffirmed that right after his title loss at UFC 323 to Yan, the promotion called him and promised him an immediate title rematch, which he 100% deserves.
The Georgian phenom defended his title successfully three times in 2025. That same year, he wanted to become the first UFC fighter to register four successful title defenses in 12 months, but failed in his pursuit.
With the scores now tied, Yan vs. Dvalishvili 3 was expected to happen in the first quarter of 2026, but the current and two-time UFC bantamweight champion recently had lower back surgery and will be out of action for a couple of months.
Hence, “The Machine” wants to wait for Yan and has confirmed that he will be taking any bouts in the meantime. He told Helwani:
I’m waiting for Petr Yan because this fight makes sense. We’re 1-1. I beat him in 2023, and he beat me and opened me up good in 2025. Now we both have a good time to prepare, and I wanna challenge myself to see who’s gonna win the trilogy. It’s worth the wait, and after this fight, we move on.”
Check out Merab Dvalishvili’s comments below:
Meanwhile, earlier today, Yan posted a picture of himself running on the treadmill and captioned it:
Rehabilitation continues! Slowly but surely moving. UFC White House – anyone!”
Yan’s post is clear enough to understand that he expects to get fit in time to fight at the White House.
However, “The Machine” has previously told MMA Pros Pick that a trilogy bout with Yan won’t happen on June 14, as the promotion won’t have Russian fighters on that special card.
During the same sit-down with Ariel Helwani, Merab Dvalishvili also stated that he wants to fight 2 times in 2026, but he doesn’t regret taking four fights last year.
Merab Dvalishvili explains what went wrong at UFC 323
Although “The Machine” brought his usual relentless cardio and nonstop forward pressure at UFC 323 in the rematch with Petr Yan, he wasn’t the better man that night.
“No Mercy” landed the more damaging shots, pieced up Merab Dvalishvili’s face and liver, stuffed takedown attempts, and scored his own.
Dvalishvili recently explained to Ariel Helwani what went wrong at UFC 323. The 35-year-old stated how he didn’t train for any specific opponent and was getting ready for anybody and everybody, which was a wrong call. He said:
I didn’t prepare for this specific fight. I was ready for everybody, but I wasn’t training specifically for Petr Yan. I should have prepared for him specifically. During the fight, I knew something wasn’t right. It was hard to make changes in the middle of the fight. For our trilogy fight, I need to sit down, watch his fights, make some changes, study him, and prepare more. It’s all my mistake.”
Check out Merab Dvalishvili’s comments below:
Dvalishvili’s coach, John Wood, has previously admitted that their approach of seeking finishes in title defenses was a reason why “The Machine” lost his title at UFC 323, and from now on, “Merab just needs to go be Merab.”
