Merab Dvalishvili: ‘This machine never breaks’ after Petr Yan loss

Merab
Dvalishvili says he’s motivated to return after losing to
Petr
Yan in their trilogy bout.

Dvalishvili (21-6) dropped a unanimous decision to Yan (21-5) on
Saturday in the co-main event of
UFC 333 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, failing to reclaim the

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title.

Merab Dvalishvili says he is healthy and motivated to return
following his UFC 333 trilogy defeat to Petr Yan

Dvalishvili won the first two rounds on all three scorecards with
relentless wrestling pressure. However, Yan turned the tide in the
third frame, defending takedowns and landing damaging blows on the
feet over the final three rounds. All three judges scored the bout
48-47 for the Russian champion.

Dvalishvili thanked God, his coaches, training partners, the UFC
and his supporters in a statement posted on social media following
the defeat.

“First and foremost I want to thank God for he has truly blessed me
and I am grateful! Next I want to thank my cornermen Aljamain
Sterling, Davey Grant,
Zviad
Lazishvili, John Wood for
their help and dedication. I am grateful for my Vegas teammates and
training partners who always showed up and pushed me to great
limits,” Dvalishvili wrote on X. “Thank you to the UFC for always
giving me these opportunities! Last but certainly not least – my
family, friends and fans – your support and love means the world to
me! I cannot wait to be back in that cage doing what I love to do!
I am healthy and motivated and will be back soon! This Machine
never breaks! See you all soon.”