At UFC Fight Night 221, Merab Dvalishvili handed Petr Yan his third straight defeat. In the eyes of the MMA world as a whole, Dvalishvili’s unanimous decision victory over Yan (50-45 on all three judges’ scorecards) was Yan’s most resounding defeat.
In the early going, Yan showed excellent takedown resistance, but Dvalishvili’s pressure on the mat eventually wore him out. Yan seemed worn out during the championship rounds as the fight went on. By attempting 49 takedowns versus Yan, “The Machine” achieved the biggest victory of his UFC career thus far and established a UFC record.
When Petr Yan had time to consider the defeat and his performance, he sent a lengthy comment to Instagram. He claimed that he did not feel physically at his best before to the battle and felt that he should have taken care of such issues before the fight. In his writing, he stated:
“While it is inconvenient and painful to acknowledge what is happening, the past cannot be changed. I was pleased with the preparedness in general. There were various obstacles that slowed things down, but I considered them and was confident that I could handle them. I took a plane to the US, where we disembarked and began working after a few days. I thought physical treatment was necessary!”
Yan said he should be back to his best with a few tweaks, and he left.
“Because I was already on the field, I was unable to consider postponing the combat. I believe the object I couldn’t move or hit was made of water. I needed to hold on! Knowing what I am capable of, I can do it better! Reboot and modify as necessary!”
Merab Dvalishvili believes UFC Fight Night 221 loss will be a learning lesson for Petr Yan
Merab Dvalishvili believes that Petr Yan, a former bantamweight champion, will learn a lot from his shutout performance against him. Yan downplayed Dvalishvili’s abilities prior to the match, claiming that “The Machine” was superior to him.
Dvalishvili said at the UFC Fight Night 221 post-fight press conference:
“While [Petr Yan] is an excellent boxer, he can be a touch arrogant. I admire fighters since they are all modest and decent individuals, but I don’t believe this man to be one of them. He was thinking before that he is the best, he is the No. 1, and I am zero, but I believe this loss will make him reflect more and respect other fighters. This is not how it is. Everyone of us is human, so nobody is flawless. People shouldn’t be treated this way. Everyone should be respected. Before, he didn’t respect me, but now he will.”