Merab Dvalishvili hasn’t fought Petr Yan yet, and he’s already booking November. According to a thread that hit r/MMA on Thursday, the Georgian bantamweight said he’s open to facing Song Yadong at Madison Square Garden next month if he beats Yan at UFC 333.
The condition matters. Yan comes first, this Saturday, October 24, on the card headlined by Volkanovski vs. Evloev. The r/MMA thread framed a Song fight as a title defense. Wikipedia currently lists Dvalishvili as a former champion, and the Knockout Daily rankings have him at No. 2 at 135. So what exactly is on the line Saturday deserves a hard look before anyone prints MSG posters.
If Dvalishvili really wants to fight twice in roughly a month, nobody should be shocked. This is the guy with 119 successful takedowns, the most in UFC history, and he sits third all-time in total strikes landed. He’s 21-5, fights out of the Serra-Longo Fight Team, and last competed on December 6, 2025. After opening his UFC run with losses to Frankie Saenz and Ricky Simón, he ripped off 14 straight wins, the fourth-longest streak in company history, through José Aldo, Henry Cejudo, Sean O’Malley and Yan himself.
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He doesn’t sound worried about the Yan part. At their faceoff this week, per Championship Rounds, he told Yan: “Talk now, enjoy. Saturday I will show you. I will eat you.”
Yan’s camp has its own storyline. He confirmed via the UFC that his son will be in his corner. “He wanted to do it. Who am I to say no? The kid is growing up and plays sports. I think it’ll be good energy for him,” Yan said.
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Song is the interesting name here. As of September 5 he was No. 2 in the Meta UFC bantamweight rankings, and he has a history with Yan. Yan withdrew from their planned December 2023 headliner with an injury, then beat Song by unanimous decision at UFC 299 in March 2024. Song is also apparently enormous for the division. In a clip shared by Championship Rounds, Jean Silva asked how much he weighed, and Song answered “77 kgs,” then added “Yes, 78 kgs maybe.” That’s a lot of man to cut down to 135 on short rest.
No fight has been announced. Dvalishvili’s first job is Yan on Saturday, and a fast turnaround against Song only becomes a real conversation after that.
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