Petr Yan believes he has found the blueprint to beat Merab Dvalishvili, according to a NY Fights report published Thursday. The report’s headline carries the claim. It doesn’t lay out the plan in any detail, so the specifics of what Yan thinks he has solved stay with Yan until Saturday.
Dvalishvili didn’t wait that long to respond. At their face off, he told Yan: “Talk now, enjoy. Saturday I will show you. I will eat you,” per a clip posted by Championship Rounds on X.
The other storyline of fight week is a softer one. Yan confirmed his son will corner him, according to a UFC clip shared on X by Dovy. “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. In a separate clip, Yan recalled his son reacting with “brother wtf.” I have no further context for that one, and I’m not sure I want it.
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Why the blueprint talk matters
Anyone claiming to have solved Dvalishvili is claiming to have solved the most prolific takedown artist the UFC has ever had. His 119 successful takedowns are the most in company history, and he sits third all-time in total strikes landed. He built a 14-fight win streak, the fourth longest in UFC history, that went through former champions José Aldo, Henry Cejudo, Sean O’Malley and Yan himself. Volume is his whole identity. He wrestles you, lets go, and wrestles you again before you’ve finished standing up.
Yan is the current and two-time UFC bantamweight champion, according to his Wikipedia profile, and No. 4 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings as of Sept. 22. He’s 20-5 and sits No. 1 at bantamweight in Knockout Daily’s rankings. Dvalishvili is 21-5, No. 2 in those rankings and No. 9 pound for pound. Both men last fought on Dec. 6, 2025.
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Yan’s base is boxing. He trained in it for eight years and earned the rank of Master of Sport. Any blueprint he has almost certainly starts with keeping the fight upright long enough for those hands to matter in Rounds 3, 4 and 5, when Dvalishvili’s pace usually drowns people.
What’s next
The trilogy goes down Saturday, Oct. 24 at UFC 333, on a card headlined by Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev. Yan says he has the answers, and Dvalishvili says he’s hungry. My money says the first takedown attempt comes inside the opening 30 seconds, and how Yan’s hips handle it will tell us whether the blueprint was real.
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