Merab Dvalishvili has spoken. Two days after Petr Yan beat him by unanimous decision at UFC 333 to keep the bantamweight title, the Georgian posted his first extended statement on X Monday. It’s a thank-you note with a warning stapled to the bottom.
He opened by thanking God and saying he counts himself blessed. Then he named his cornermen one by one: @funkmasterMMA, @DaveyGrantMMA, @zviadlazishvili and @bigwoodmma. He credited his Las Vegas teammates and training partners for pushing him in camp. He also gave a separate shout to his New York side, tagging @MattSerraUFC and @TrainingDaywRay along with what he called his New York and Long Island boys. The UFC got a line of thanks for continuing to give him opportunities, and his family, friends and fans closed out the list.
The last few sentences are the part people will screenshot. Dvalishvili wrote that he can’t wait to get back in the cage. He added, “I am healthy and motivated and will be back soon,” and signed off with “This Machine never breaks!”
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How UFC 333 Played Out
The UFC announced the result Saturday from Abu Dhabi. All three judges scored it 48-47 for Yan, per Championship Rounds. That’s about as thin as a unanimous decision gets over five rounds. It means one round, on every card, separated a successful title defense from a new champion.
Not everyone agreed with the scorecards. Championship Rounds posted Ilia Topuria’s reaction to the decision, and he wasn’t hiding it: “48-47 Yan? Nooo. What are you saying?” During the broadcast, UFCStats circulated a graphic splitting Yan’s output in Rounds 1 and 2 from Rounds 3, 4 and 5. That split is the conversation this fight is going to generate for a while.
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Yan left the arena still holding the belt. Later that night, Championship Rounds shared a photo of him with Alexander Volkanovski, who also won on the card.
Dvalishvili’s statement doesn’t name an opponent, a timeline or a date. All he commits to is “soon,” and he says his health isn’t the issue.
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Quick Take
Look at the tone first. There’s no complaint about the judges and no shot at Yan. Everyone around him gets credit, including the UFC, and then he says he’s coming back. Plenty of fighters lose a 48-47 sweep and spend the week litigating Round 3 on social media. He didn’t, and I respect it. Topuria can be outraged on his behalf. A fight this close gets decided in the margins, and the margins are exactly where a fighter can make adjustments. If his team goes back and studies where those rounds swung, I’d expect him to show up next time with an answer. The detail I keep coming back to is him saying he’s healthy. Five rounds with Yan and he walks out with no injury report. For a guy built on pace, that’s the most important line in the post.
