"You're better than this" - Merab Dvalishvili goes nuclear on Petr Yan for claiming he fought injured in their first clash 

Merab Dvalishvili (left) goes off on Petr Yan
Merab Dvalishvili (left) goes off on Petr Yan's (right) injury excuses. [Image courtesy: Getty Images]

Merab Dvalishvili recently sounded off on Petr Yan for claiming he fought with one hand in their previous encounter.

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Dvalishvili and Yan are set to throw down in a bantamweight title rematch at UFC 323 this weekend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In their first fight at UFC Fight Night 221 in March 2023, 'The Machine' pushed Yan to his limits over five rounds and won the contest via unanimous decision.

Dvalishvili also set the record for most takedowns attempted in a bout (49) in UFC history against Yan in their first encounter. When Yan was asked about the threat of Dvalishvili's takedowns during the UFC 323 pre-fight presser, the Russian fighter claimed that he fought injured in their previous clash and said:

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"In my first fight, I fought with him with one arm. He tried 49 takedowns."

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Dvalishvili wasn't having any of Yan's comments and accused him of making up excuses. Going ballistic on his longtime rival, Dvalishvili said:

"Petr, you are better than this, bro. Stop making excuses. Please, no excuses. When I beat you on Dec. 6, what excuse are you going to make? Tell me now... Are you going to make an excuse when I beat you again? Tell me now, please. 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?"
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Merab Dvalishvili gets honest about trash-talking in MMA ahead of UFC 323

Merab Dvalishvili recently shared his thoughts on fighters trash-talking each other to hype up fights and made it clear that he had buried the hatchet with Petr Yan ahead of their rematch.

During the UFC 323 media day interviews, Dvalishvili claimed that he isn't a fan of fighters exchanging disrespectful verbal jabs and said:

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"That time it was more personal for me... The only problem I had with him [Yan] was that he was bullying. He was talking trash about me and Aljo [Aljamain Sterling], about our team, and he was just not giving us respect. That was the problem, but now it's all good. I shake his hand and wish him the best in his life."
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He added:

"I never liked this made-up drama. It's a fight, and we're professionals, people will watch anyway... I don't like this man... If it's not organic, why do we have to disrespect each other? I never liked this... Maybe I joke, but joke is joke. I don't like to talk trash for no reason, and I don't like somebody to disrespect me for no reason." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

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Edited by Nishant Zende.
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