‘Stop making excuses!’: Merab Dvalishvili slams Petr Yan saying he fought with one arm in first fight
Merab Dvalishvili promised there’s no more bad blood with Petr Yan ahead of their rematch at UFC 323 but that didn’t stop the reigning bantamweight champion from getting a little heated at his opponent during the pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
During the Q&A, Yan addressed Dvalishvili seeking 49 takedowns in their first encounter, many of which he thwarted but ultimately didn’t matter after losing a unanimous decision following the five round fight. When asked about the adjustments he made ahead of the rematch, Yan was quick to point out that he was far from at his healthiest when he initially clashed with Dvalishvili back in 2023.
“In my first fight, I fought with him with one arm,” Yan said. “He tried 49 takedowns.”
That drew a fiery response from Dvalishvili, who has admittedly grown tired of hearing about injuries and ailments from past opponents after beating them. He unleashed a similar tirade in the aftermath of his win over Umar Nurmagomedov back in January when the Russian revealed he suffered a broken hand early in their fight that affected the rest of his performance.
Dvalishvili obviously wasn’t pleased to hear Yan bring up an injury as well, which effectively diminishes his victory in their first fight.
“Petr, you are better than this,” Dvalishvili shouted at Yan. “Stop making excuses! Please, no excuses. I will beat you on Dec. 6, what excuse are you going to make? Tell me now!”
From there, Dvalishvili repeatedly demanded to know if Yan was dealing with any pre-fight injuries now so he could get that out of the way before they actually meet again.
That got quite a reaction from the Las Vegas crowd as Dvalishvili kept after Yan trying to get him to respond.
“Are you going to make excuse when I beat you again? Tell me now, please,” Dvalishvili said. “Are you going to make any excuse? Are you going to make an excuse on Dec. 6 or not? Tell me now, please. Do you have any injuries now?
“I have a question for you. Do you have any injuries now? Do you have injuries or no? Yes or no? I guess not.”
The raucous crowd didn’t help matters much when it came to Yan trying to hear what Dvalishvili was saying to him but he eventually got enough of a translation to respond.
“Guys, I feel great,” Yan said. “This Saturday you’re going to see me in the best shape of my life.”
Of course, Yan promised to deliver a victory and reclaim the UFC bantamweight title and Dvalishvili’s retort was simple.
“Good luck,” Dvalishvili said.
The bantamweights meet in the main event at UFC 323 with flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja defending his title against Joshua Van in the co-main event.
