Dvalishvili Says Yan's Trash Talk No Longer Bothers Him

Merab Dvalishvili says Petr Yan can talk all the trash he wants, because he is not going to take the bait. Dvalishvili explained his calm approach to MMA Fighting ahead of the bantamweight title trilogy between the two at UFC 333.

"The Machine" dominated the first meeting at UFC Las Vegas in March 2023. Yan reversed it in the rematch at UFC 323 last December and became a two-time divisional champion. Yan has won four straight since the lopsided loss, while Dvalishvili, who put the title on the line four times in 2025, is making his first appearance of 2026 after his 14-fight win streak ended.

A quiet press conference

Before UFC 331 in September, Yan and Dvalishvili took part in a press conference together with headliners Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev. Yan taunted his opponent and kept interrupting him. Dvalishvili did not fire back, did not lose his temper and stayed respectful, and pundits wondered whether something was wrong.

Dvalishvili said he is just not going to play the game that way. He knows Yan well, he said, and "he's always been disrespectful." The talk no longer bothers him. "I think I grew up as a person, as a fighter," he said, and described himself as a respectful guy and a fighter, not a politician. What matters most, he said, is making weight, showing up on Oct. 24 and doing his job, and he will answer Yan's questions in the fight.

Dvalishvili has been known to flare up over the years when other fighters, or fans at events, disrespected him. Asked where things changed, he said he learned from past indiscretions and came to see that life is too short to be angry.

He gave a recent example. A couple of months earlier he had said something online about a politician, and many people criticized him, including fellow Georgians. He said he had taken it personally because he was sure he was right, and he stood by his view about his country and its people.

The biggest fight of his career

Asked whether the Yan trilogy is the biggest fight of his career, Dvalishvili said yes, for now. He noted that the next fight is usually called the biggest, but this one, he said, is for sure the biggest: he is fighting a champion and the "most dangerous guy." Yan, in his words, has all the tools and all the skills, and people have been waiting for the trilogy.

Source: MMA Fighting