“Dvalishvili was lucky that after the fight with Petr Yan he left on his own two feet” – Bikrev

Petr Yan could have defeated Georgian Merab Dvalishvili even more spectacularly, but even without this, the Russian fighter had an excellent fight, Fight Nights champion Dmitry Bikrev told Match TV.

Yan defeated Dvalishvili in the main event at UFC 323 in Las Vegas. After five rounds, the judges unanimously gave victory to the Russian, who became the UFC bantamweight champion. Yang previously won the belt in 2020. Now the Russian’s winning streak is four fights; before that, Yan lost three fights in a row. In March 2023, he lost to Dvalishvili by unanimous decision.

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— Four fights in a year is very difficult physically. Dvalishvili took such a risk. Before the fight, I said that Peter needed to be injury-free and as ready as possible. So these two factors came together. Petya showed an excellent fight. I think he was even careful. He could have won more spectacularly, although he already painted his face and almost tore off his liver. Merab was lucky that he left on his own two feet. Trilogy? Don’t know. Peter fought until the rematch. Let Dvalishvili fight with the same Umar Nurmagomedov. Interesting story. Based on the results of this fight, there will be a new contender. Let’s see what the UFC offers,” Bikrev told Match TV.

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