Dricus du Plessis: Dricus du Plessis has the perfect reaction as Merab Dvalishvili attempts to create history at UFC 323

Merab Dvalishvili will return to action in a few months as he looks to defend his UFC bantamweight title. ‘The Machine’ is set to face Petr Yan in a rematch at UFC 323, and this could be a historic outing for the champion.

Dvalishvili will be fighting for the fourth time in 2025 and aims to become the first UFC champion to defend his title four times in the same year.

Former UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis reacted to the news of Dvalishvili fighting in December. The South African had the near-perfect reaction to the fight, calling Merab an “absolute warrior.”

Check out Dricus du Plessis’ Instagram story about Merab Dvalishvili below:

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Dricus du Plessis reacts to Merab Dvalishvili's fight. [Image courtesy: Dricus du Plessis on Instagram @dricusduplessis]

The Georgian-American beat Cory Sandhagen in his previous bout to retain the bantamweight title. Dvalishvili has been on an absolute tear since losing to Ricky Simon in 2018. The champion's on a 14-fight winning streak and has defeated Jose Aldo, Sean O’Malley and Henry Cejudo.

He faced Petr Yan at UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili in 2023 and defeated the Russian via unanimous decision.

Merab Dvalishvili reacts to fighting Petr Yan at UFC 323

‘The Machine’s’ decision to defend his belt for a fourth time should be lauded. Fighting four times in 12 months is not easy, but Dvalishvili is confident he can get the job done against Yan.

The champion reacted to the news of facing Yan as Dana White confirmed the bout on social media.

Dvalishvili thanked the UFC CEO and Hunter Campbell on X and was ready to go.

Dvalishvili might come into the fight on a winning streak but it won’t be easy. Yan is a former UFC bantamweight champion and could provide a stern test to the current title holder.

The Russian lost the title to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 following an illegal knee, rendering the challenger unable to compete. He was then defeated by Sterling at UFC 273 and went on to lose another two bouts.

However, Yan has turned things around and is on a three-fight winning streak. His last win was against Marcus McGhee on the Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder card.

About the author

Saiyed Adeem Karim is the MMA CM for Sportskeeda and started his sportswriting journey right here.

He started his career working for one of India's biggest FMCG companies. He has also worked in creative agencies, and several of his copies have been used in a range of promotions and advertisements.

Saiyed has written for several football sites between his SK stints. He also wrote WWE and MMA articles before managing teams at Mediareferee/Soccersouls.

When he isn't managing the MMA and Boxing teams at SK, Saiyed tries to relax by playing a ton of FIFA and Racing games.

Saiyed is also a big football and F1 fan and has been supporting Liverpool and McLaren since the late 90s.

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