Merab Dvalishvili hasn’t even made the walk for his trilogy with Petr Yan, and he’s already floating his next fight. Speaking ahead of tonight’s UFC 333 co-main event, Dvalishvili said he’d be open to facing Song Yadong at Madison Square Garden in November if he wins the bantamweight title back from Yan, according to BJPenn.com. Yahoo Sports also ran the story.
He was asked whether Song made sense as his next opponent should he beat Yan on Saturday, and he didn’t hesitate.
“That’s a good idea, actually,” Dvalishvili said. “If UFC will do this, they don’t usually do this, but God willing when I will win against Yan, if they bring Song Yadong, that would be nice because yeah, I think he’s next, that’s a no-brainer.”
How we got here
To be clear about the stakes, Dvalishvili is the challenger tonight. Yan took the belt from him in their rematch last year, after Dvalishvili had controlled their first meeting a few years back. That loss came on a short turnaround. Dvalishvili fought Yan two months after his previous title defense, and he admitted that was a mistake specific to that opponent.
“I don’t regret that I was busy last year and I’m happy even when I lost,” he said. “It’s fine, it’s part of the sport, but if you ask me again to fight Petr Yan two months after I defend my belt, I’m not going to do the same thing right now because I needed more time against Petr Yan.”
Then he carved out the exception that makes this story: “But everybody else, I can fight Song Yadong in November in Madison Square Garden.”
Yan, for his part, isn’t talking about anyone except Dvalishvili. He vowed this week to break Dvalishvili’s nose again, adding, “I want to smash this guy.”
Dvalishvili did offer a little self-awareness on the November idea. He said his mindset pushes him toward fighting at MSG, but he also wants to open a gym that month and conceded he should probably take some time to relax. He still circled back to the same conclusion, saying it would be nice if the UFC brought Song in.
UFC 333 is headlined by Alexander Volkanovski defending the featherweight title against Movsar Evloev, with Dvalishvili vs. Yan 3 directly before it.
Mara’s take
I love that he’s honest about the Yan problem. A fighter openly saying “I needed more time against Petr Yan” is a guy who studied his own loss instead of blaming the schedule. But that same honesty cuts against the November plan. Activity is how Dvalishvili wins, with relentless volume and wrestling entries that break people over 25 minutes, and a three-round-fight gas tank this deep is rare. Still, a 25-minute title fight against Yan, who has already broken his nose once, takes a toll that doesn’t show up until camp starts. The UFC also rarely books champions back within weeks, as Dvalishvili himself pointed out. So my pick: if he wins tonight, Song is the right next name, and it happens in 2027 after the gym opens. First he has to get through Yan, and I think he does it by staying on Yan’s hips from the opening bell, the way he did the first time.
