Merab Dvalishvili's coach issues ice-cold preview of potential Petr Yan rematch in light of UFC 320 win: "That was a little disappointing"

MMA coach talks Merab Dvalishvili (right) vs. Petr Yan (left) rematch. [Image courtesy: Getty Images]
MMA coach talks Merab Dvalishvili (right) vs. Petr Yan (left) rematch. [Image courtesy: Getty Images]

Merab Dvalishvili's coach recently shared his thoughts on a potential Petr Yan rematch and explained why the Russian fighter would be in deep trouble if they ran it back.

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In their first encounter, Dvalishvili outpointed Yan over five rounds at UFC on ESPN+ 79 in March 2023. After his recent title defense against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 last weekend, Dvalishvili expressed a keen interest in rematching Yan and called him out in his post-fight interview. Meanwhile, Yan is on a three-fight win streak and is coming off a decision win against Marcus McGhee in July.

In an interview with Mike Bohn, coach Wood addressed Yan claiming that he was dealing with health issues in his first fight against Dvalishvili and that he'd be better prepared to beat 'The Machine' in a potential rematch. Coach Wood said:

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"I'm a Yan fan. That was a little disappointing. Well, now we've got to go out there and do you worse than we did the first time, just to prove a point. And I think Merab will. Merab was also 50% in the skillset [in the first fight]. He's so much better than when they first fought, and the second fight is gonna be so much worse for him [Yan]... Dude, just shut up... Don't take the f**king fights if you're gonna come out crying."
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Petr Yan talks potential Merab Dvalishvili rematch in December

After Merab Dvalishvili's win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 last weekend, Petr Yan addressed the Georgian-born fighter's rematch callout. Yan made it clear that he's down to fight Dvalishvili again and claimed that he was operating at "50%" in their first encounter.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Yan reacted to Dvalishvili's callout and recalled their first fight, saying:

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"I think it's possible if he doesn't have any injuries. He's the one who's been pushing for it. If it lines up with the UFC's plans, I believe it's possible. I've been waiting for this chance, and I'm ready to fight in December. I believe it's going to be a great fight that has history. Last time I was compromised. I was only at 50 percent, so this time it will be something different. It will be a great and exciting fight."
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He continued:

"If you just look at the stats of our previous fight, you can see that I only used my right hand maybe like three or four times. I couldn't punch with my right hand, I couldn't use it to defend the wrestling. So, it's just facts... I cannot say that I don't regret it, but now at least I have an opportunity to change it, to win the rematch." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

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Edited by Nishant Zende.
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