Petr Yan doesn’t waste words, and he didn’t start now. The former bantamweight champion posted on X on Wednesday, Oct. 7, to announce that his clothing collection with Full Violence is on sale. Then he tacked on four more words for the man holding his old belt: “See you soon Merab 👊🏻.”
That’s the whole message. Yan has never needed a long promo, and with 17 days left before he walks out against Merab Dvalishvili, a short one does the job fine.
The two meet in a bantamweight championship trilogy at UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. Dvalishvili goes in as the current 135-pound champion. Yan goes in as the former titleholder trying to take the division back. A third fight between two guys who already know each other’s habits is my favorite kind of booking, because neither man can count on surprise. Whoever wins will have to change something.
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The man watching closest is probably Sean O’Malley. He told The SuGuru Show this week that he’s locked in on the result. O’Malley holds a split decision win over Yan and has lost twice to Dvalishvili, so he knows the UFC isn’t rushing to book him against Merab a third time. A Yan win, though, sets up a rematch O’Malley would happily take.
O’Malley also shared voice messages between himself and Yan on Instagram, which Championship Rounds passed along on X. His opener was friendly in tone and not in content: “Hope you beat Merab so I can beat your ass again.” Yan answered in classic Yan fashion: “Sean, hello. Coming to Abu Dhabi. I smash Merab and you will [be] next.”
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Payton Talbott sits in the background of all this. He knocked out Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 332 last Saturday and called out O’Malley afterward, and he’s suggested the two could have fought at UFC White House in June. O’Malley swore on his family that he was never offered that fight and said he thinks Talbott invented it. He still likes the matchup, and he laid out exactly when it happens.
“If Petr goes out there and loses, let’s squabble, me and Payton, let’s make it happen,” O’Malley said. “If Petr goes out there and wins, I’m ducking [Talbott] for a tougher fight. I’m ducking him for Petr Yan.”
So the trilogy decides more than the belt. Yan wins, and O’Malley gets his rematch while Talbott waits. Dvalishvili wins, and O’Malley vs. Talbott probably moves up the line while the champion looks for someone new to drag into deep water.
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My take: Yan’s post is pure Yan. He’s calm, he’s selling hoodies, and he’s telling the champion he’ll be there. Trilogies get won between rounds, by the guy who spots what failed in the first five minutes and fixes it with a minute of rest on the stool. Both of these men have the fight IQ to do it, which is why I’d rather watch this fight than any other bantamweight booking on the board. I’m leaning Dvalishvili, because a pace that grinds on you for 25 minutes leaves the other guy very little room to adjust. We find out on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi, and O’Malley will be watching from his couch with his phone out.
