Two of the best bantamweights today fight for relevancy in the UFC bantamweight title picture.
Yan is one of the best bantamweight boxers in terms of technique and power. The gap in skill between Dvalishvili and Yan is wider in the striking department. The way he acts on camera is a different way. "I think he doesn't have any other way to bring attention to himself," Yan said. Romanov is coming off the first loss of his career last August after starting out with a 16-fight win streak. An enraged Yan contemplated leaving the UFC after his questionable loss to O'Malley, but he reeled in the emotions ahead of the Dvalishvili fight. Dvalishvili has been unusually provocative in the lead-up to the fight. The Russian finds himself with consecutive losses for the first time in his career and the looming threat of his first losing streak should he falter on Saturday. Yan (16-4) remains one of the best bantamweights on the planet but finds himself in desperate need of a turnaround after back-to-back split-decision losses to UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and Sean O'Malley. The way he acts off-camera is different. "He's a great fighter. Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili are trying to stay afloat in the shark-infested bantamweight waters.
Stay up to date with what's happening today at UFC Vegas 71, which is not going down from APEX facility, rather The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, ...
This time, he was able to take the back with ample time left on the clock. Later on in the round, Gravely went back to the takedown and was able to get it. A massive up kick to the face from Silva opened up the second stanza, sending a dazed Nam to the canvas. The lockdown top pressure was then engaged, and Harris proceeded to own Gooden on the mat. Assunção shot in for the takedown to open the second stanza, but Grant fought hard to remain vertical and get back to open space. Aldrich then got really close to a takedown, but the defense of Lipski continued to be there late in the fight. Fremd stung Dumas again early in the second round, and then hit a beautiful whizzer kick to get on top. Turkalj went to the back again, but it was only a matter of time before Petrino reversed him yet again. Somehow, Turkalj grappled his way to the back, but again was unable to hold the position. After a series of spinning kicks from Cannetti, Bautista shot in and took the fight down to the ground. It took less than a minute for Nurmagomedov to hit a takedown in the second round. Krylov went for a guillotine of his own, and then found himself on the back.
Get Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili full fight video highlights for the UFC Las Vegas main event on Saturday.
[#UFCLasVegas] [pic.twitter.com/FJqtcVK6fT] [March 12, 2023] [#UFCLasVegas] [pic.twitter.com/LlIhOyTikJ] [March 12, 2023] [Petr Yan](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/4437/petr-yan) vs.
Sean Zerillo breaks down Saturday's main event between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili at UFC Vegas (The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas).
And as always, I would look to live bet Yan after Round 1 at a better price. The content on this page is for informational purposes only. The ex-champ typically drops the first round to his opponents and looks to build as his fights wear on. He doesn’t carry massive one-punch power or necessarily go out of his way – at any point – to pursue the finish. We may be compensated for the links provided on this page. Until Yan changes his fighting style, that will remain the best way to bet him. Below, I’ll provide my analysis and projections and utilize those factors to bet on the main event for UFC Las Vegas: Yan vs. For starters, Yan would be the favorite against any 135-pound fighter on the planet. Yan’s hand-fighting should serve him well to deny clinch positions, and even if he does get taken down, I don’t expect Dvalishvili to keep him there for long. Merab doesn’t have the same length to employ that strategy, and we haven’t seen holes anywhere else in Yan’s game that can be exploited. The UFC will host its first-ever event at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on Saturday with a bantamweight showdown between former champion and No. 2-ranked contender Petr Yan and No.
LAS VEGAS — Seconds into his important bantamweight bout with Petr Yan, Merab Dvalishvili gave away his game plan: He pushed a relentless pace, ...
From bell to bell at UFC Fight Night 221, Merab Dvalishvili smothered Petr Yan, broke the UFC takedown attempt record and won a shutout.
Jared Gooden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-fight-night-221-las-vegas-petr-yan-merab-dvalishvili-play-by-play-live-results”) JJ Aldrich via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-fight-night-221-las-vegas-petr-yan-merab-dvalishvili-play-by-play-live-results”) [Bruno Silva def. Lukasz Brzeski via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-fight-night-221-las-vegas-petr-yan-merab-dvalishvili-play-by-play-live-results”) [Davey Grant def. Anton Turkalji via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-fight-night-221-las-vegas-petr-yan-merab-dvalishvili-play-by-play-live-results”) [Karl Williams def. Tony Gravely via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-fight-night-221-las-vegas-petr-yan-merab-dvalishvili-play-by-play-live-results”) [Ariane Lipski def. Tyson Nam via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:23](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-fight-night-221-video-bruno-silva-vs-tyson-name-kick-finish”) [Carlston Harris def. Said Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-fight-night-221-las-vegas-petr-yan-merab-dvalishvili-play-by-play-live-results”) [Mario Bautista def. Sedriques Dumas via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:00](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-fight-night-221-video-josh-fremd-vs-sedriques-dumas-submission”) [Victor Henry def. Guido Cannetti via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:18](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-fight-night-221-video-mario-bautista-submission-guido-cannetti-callout-cody-garbrandt”) [Vitor Petrino def. Ryan Spann via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:38](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-fight-night-221-results-nikita-krylov-vs-ryan-spann-submission”) [Jonathan Martinez def. Alexandr Romanov via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:16](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-fight-night-221-results-alexander-volkov-pounds-alexandr-romanov-tko-knockout”) [Nikita Krylov def. [laundry list of qualms](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-fight-night-221-video-merab-dvalishvili-blasts-petr-yan-human-angry) he had with Yan – including nationality, gambling debts, threats, and more.
The Georgian bantamweight turned in a historic performance in the victory. He attempted a UFC-record 49 takedowns, shattering the previous record of 33 set by ...
"He is my brother and the world champion," Dvalishvili said of Sterling, who was in his corner on Saturday. He is a close friend and training partner of defending champion He turned every second of the bout into a grinding affair, attacking Yan with leg kicks, jabs, right hands, knees from the clinch and elbows. Dvalishvili, who has a Georgian flag tattooed on his chest due to the UFC's recent restriction of fighters walking to the Octagon with their country's flag, made it a point to speak out against Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine. He attempted a UFC-record 49 takedowns, shattering the previous record of 33 set by former heavyweight champion All three judges scored the 135-pound bout a 50-45 shutout for Dvalishvili, who came in as a 2-1 betting underdog.
Dvalishvili's relentless offense was too much for Yan to deal with over the course of 25 minutes.
"He is my brother and he is the real champion," Dvalishvili said of Sterling during his post-fight interview from The Theater at Virgin Hotels. There is a predicament if Dvalishvili and Sterling continue to excel. Dvalishvili blew past the record for takedowns attempted in a single UFC fight, trying an astounding 49 takedowns and securing 11. Dvalishvili overwhelmed Yan with wrestling and striking to take a one-sided decision over the former UFC bantamweight champion. Dvalishvili (16-4) extended his winning streak to nine and will likely be ranked No. Big moments were few and far between in the fight, but Dvalishvili wobbled Yan with a leg kick in Round 2 and had Yan's eye swollen completely shut by the time the fight wrapped.
Merab Dvalishvili showed new wrinkles to his game and dominated in all areas in a statement performance at UFC Las Vegas, as he won all five rounds against ...
Back up, and Dvalishvili landed a big right hand. In a round that played out mostly on the feet, Merab Dvalishvili was still winning. He piled on with the wrestling early, taking Yan to the fence while Matt Serra hollered from his corner to “knee him again!” Time was now a factor for Petr Yan, who didn’t appear able to break free of the Georgian. Yan was quickly back up, and Dvalishvili was right back on him. Chasing Yan to the other side of the cage, he was back on Yan, who simply could not shake the Georgian, who finally dragged Yan down. Yan would escape and reverse, leaning on Dvalishvili — who used some open palm strikes to bother Yan. Catching a Yan kick, Dvalishvili kicked Yan’s leg out from under him. It was Merab quickly back up and reversing against the fence, however. A pair of leg kicks had Yan backing up, and Merab fired several step-in elbows as Yan covered up. He backed Yan up to the fence, firing an elbow as Yan covered up. The Russian then caught a kick and dumped Dvalishvili on his back with just under two minutes remaining in the second stanza. Yan fired a low kick, but Merab’s own buckled Yan, who then had to fend off another takedown attempt — but landed a blow off the break.
Merab Dvalishvili lived up to his nickname as "The Machine," attempting a UFC record 49 takedowns and sweeping the scorecards in a unanimous-decision win ...
"He is my brother and the world champion," Dvalishvili said of Sterling, who was in his corner on Saturday. He is a close friend and training partner of defending champion He turned every second of the bout into a grinding affair, attacking Yan with leg kicks, jabs, right hands, knees from the clinch and elbows. Dvalishvili, who has a Georgian flag tattooed on his chest due to the UFC's recent restriction of fighters walking to the Octagon with their country's flag, made it a point to speak out against Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine. He attempted a UFC-record 49 takedowns, shattering the previous record of 33 set by former heavyweight champion All three judges scored the 135-pound bout a 50-45 shutout for Dvalishvili, who came in as a 2-1 betting underdog.
Merab Dvalishvili put on a clinic over five rounds to dominant ex-champion Petr Yan to win a lopsided unanimous decision in the UFC Las Vegas main event.
There was a moment late in the final round where Dvalishvili brought the fight to the ground again and it looked like Yan’s spirit was just broken. “Whenever he decides to go up in weight class to fight for the next challenge, whoever will be there, then after I will fight for the title. Dvalishvili just gave him no time or space to create anything as he kept coming after Yan with a mix of strikes and wrestling. In return, Dvalishvili decided to focus some of his attention on his own calf kicks as well with one particular shot landing with a sickening thud that made Yan immediately switch stances. Dvalishvili was also displaying some crisp boxing early that appeared to catch Yan off guard as the former bantamweight champion tried to find his footing. Dvalishvili mixed in some heavy boxing combinations on the feet and then gave Yan headaches all night long with a relentless wrestling attack that helped him secure the victory.
Dvalishvili opened the fight by putting pressure on the former UFC bantamweight champion and never took his foot off the gas. In the first two rounds of the ...
In short, Gooden, who was released from the UFC in 2021 after going 1-3, might be one and done during his second run with the promotion. Grant did not end up in a superior position because of the fence grab. Dumas left himself open for counters by overthrowing his strikes and had little to offer his opponent Josh Fremd on the mat. If he had ended up in a controlling position on top of Assuncao, restarting on the feet would have been the correct call. Putting the fighters back in the open and standing rewarded Grant by putting him in a neutral position rather than a defensive spot. The commentary team said Grant was in top position when the fight was paused. I’m not complaining about the earlier start time, but the idea that the UFC is willing to switch things up for a “sport” with Carlston Harris: Carlston Harris struggled a bit in the striking department during the first round of his bout opposite Jared Gooden. Merab Dvalishvili: Someone might look at Merab Dvalishvili’s stats for his UFC Vegas 71 win over Petr Yan and point out the number of significant strikes Dvalishvili did not connect on or the amount of takedowns he failed to secure. The two combined for three submission attempts, three takedowns and 12 significant strikes before Krylov wrapped things up with a triangle choke at 3:38 of the first stanza. The 29-year-old picked up his third straight first-round finish by forcing Cannetti to tap to a rear-naked choke. In the first two rounds of the five-round contest, Dvalishvili attempted 142 significant strikes and 15 takedowns.
When the two finally met in the octagon, Dvalishvili was determined to stand and strike with the fighter most considered to be a superior striker. But in the ...
“I want to be busy and I will fight anybody. This is a good problem to have – to best friends and teammates. I do my old style where I don’t do hot tub, I don’t water load, I just do my thing, and I make weight. I love fighters because they’re all humble and good people, and I don’t think this guy is a very good guy.” “I was just worried that I was going to show up,” Dvalishvili said. “I should just do my thing, and after that thing, it made me a little more calm. “I wanted to show up and not have any accidents happen, and I had extra pressure to represent my country, my people, my team, and we were working so hard. If Sterling moves up to featherweight after a title defense against [Henry Cejudo](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/2186/henry-cejudo) at [UFC 288](https://www.mmafighting.com/fight-card/1374/ufc-288), a conflict could be avoided. “After this, I was like, ‘This guy’s really stupid, and he’s a bully,’” Dvalishvili said. But in the end, it was his wrestling that stymied the ex-champ and led to a shutout on judges’ scorecards. Dvalishvili set a new UFC record for takedown attempts, trying 49 times to put Yan on the mat. “He should not look over others.