“HELLO ABU DHABI!” the UFC wrote on X on Wednesday, alongside a clip of Merab Dvalishvili arriving for UFC 333 fight week. The post said the former champ “checks into his room for the week as he prepares for UFC 333!” and pointed fans to episode 3 of Embedded.
The tone in the hotel matched the tone in the press. NDTV Sports ran a story the same day under the headline “Merab Dvalishvili Reveals Why Petr Yan’s Trash Talk No Longer Bother Him.” So the usual back and forth with Yan apparently isn’t getting under his skin this time.
Dvalishvili (21-5) walks into this one as the challenger. Yan (20-5) is the current and two-time UFC bantamweight champion, sits at No. 1 in the Knockout Daily rankings and is No. 4 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound list as of Sept. 22. Dvalishvili is No. 2 at 135 and No. 9 pound-for-pound. Both men last fought on Dec. 6, 2025.
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This is a rematch, and the first fight belongs to the Georgian. Yan was one of the former champions Dvalishvili beat during his 14-fight win streak, the fourth longest in UFC history, a run that also went through José Aldo, Henry Cejudo and Sean O’Malley. The Serra-Longo product owns the most successful takedowns in UFC history at 119 and ranks third all-time in total strikes landed. If you’re wondering how he plans to win, the takedown number is the plan. It’s always been the plan, and the hard part for opponents is that he keeps attempting them long after a normal person’s lungs would have filed a complaint.
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Yan’s side of fight week has been considerably more wholesome. He confirmed his son will be in his corner, telling the UFC: “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.” Championship Rounds also posted a first look at his custom shorts for the event.
UFC 333 takes place Saturday, Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi on a card headlined by Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev, streaming live at 2 p.m. ET on Paramount+. A win for Dvalishvili makes him a two-time champion and evens nothing, since he’d be 2-0 against Yan. A win for Yan gives him the belt and a split series, which would probably set up a third fight.
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