"I think that we've learned some lessons"- Merab Dvalishvili’s coach speaks on future of five-round sparring in camp after loss to Petr Yan at

Merab Dvalishvili’s recent loss to Petr Yan has prompted discussion around his unconventional fight day preparation. However, his coach, John Wood, does not believe drastic changes are necessary.

After UFC 323, Wood said the team has taken lessons from the defeat. The loss to Yan ended Dvalishvili’s 14-fight win streak and halted a historic attempt at four title defenses in a year.

In the lead-up to the clash, footage surfaced of Dvalishvili completing a full five-round sparring session on the day of the fight. Wood acknowledged the criticism and said the team would review aspects of their process moving forward.

In an interview with Submission Radio in the aftermath of UFC 323, Wood said:

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“No, no [we will not make a lot of changes]. I think that we’ve learned some lessons on this one for sure. I think that there’s a lot to be learned from this. If you dare to be great, sometimes you’re going to come up short. That’s what that man has done. I believe he is great, and I believe he’ll continue to be great, and I believe that he will get that title back. Sometimes you take risks, and if you were to ask him if he would do it again, I believe he would... He’s the guy that would go through a wall. He’ll run headfirst through a brick wall to get what he wants to prove a point."

He added:

"I think that not a lot needs to be adjusted or done differently. How we go about it in the process, it’s been a long year, and there were a lot of things that went into this. It was Petr’s night and a little off night for us, and that’s that. We’ll go back, and we’ll fix it.”

Check out John Wood's comments below (13:25):

John Wood claims he's proud of Merab Dvalishvili after UFC 323 loss

John Wood made it clear that the loss doesn't diminish how highly he views Merab Dvalishvili as a fighter. From a coaching perspective, Wood said the performance showed growth.

He acknowledged that adjustments are part of his responsibility as a coach. In the aforementioned interview with Submission Radio, Wood said:

"Oh yeah, man. I’m so proud of that dude from where he’s come and how much he’s grown as a fighter. How much he continues to grow and how much he will continue to grow. I’ve got to make some changes and do some things too to help him get there. My job is always to look at ways to make things easier, make things better, and do things better for him and for any of my fighters. That’s something I’ve got to sit back and kind of reevaluate some things. But I’m super proud of him. He’s a living legend. He’s going to go down in the history books as one of the greatest."