Dana White Praises Both Petr Yan And Merab Dvalishvili In Trilogy Fight Worthy Of Year-End Honors

Dana White Praises Both Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili© Instagram

Dana White did not need much time after UFC 333 to land on his verdict. Speaking at the post-fight press conference in Abu Dhabi, the UFC president praised Petr Yan's second-round TKO of Movsar Evloev in the main event, then turned his attention to the co-main, where Yan had already done something harder: survive five rounds against Merab Dvalishvili and win on all three scorecards. Wait, that was the featherweight main event with Volkanovski. In the co-main, bantamweight champion Petr Yan retained his title against Dvalishvili in their trilogy bout. White, who had once admitted it took him time to warm to Dvalishvili as a fighter, came away from Saturday with a different read. “The co-main event saw reigning bantamweight champion Petr Yan battle back from two rounds down to edge a unanimous decision over former champion Merab Dvalishvili in a thrilling trilogy fight,” the press conference coverage confirmed. White called the fight an early candidate for year-end honors.

How the Fight Played Out

Dvalishvili set a UFC record with 58 takedown attempts across five rounds. Only five succeeded. He controlled the early going with relentless forward pressure, taking rounds one and two on most observers' cards. Yan weathered it and began landing damaging head and body shots in the third as Dvalishvili's output slowed. By the championship rounds, Yan was the fresher fighter, punishing Dvalishvili with clean strikes while the challeger's takedown game lost its edge. All three judges scored it for Yan.

What White Said and What Comes Next

White's praise for both men at the press conference reflected how the fight looked live: two fighters giving everything across five rounds with a title on the line. He noted Yan had earned the right to call his next shot and indicated a potential matchup against Song Yadong is being discussed. Yan, for his part, said his job as champion is to fight whoever the UFC puts in front of him. Dvalishvili set a record for takedown attempts and lost. Yan set a record for surviving them and walking out with his belt.