Merab Dvalishvili entered the UFC 323 main event against Petr Yan at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday looking to make history. “The Machine” planned to successfully defend a UFC championship four times in a calendar year.
Dvalishvili faced former titleholder Petr Yan in a rematch in the UFC 323 marquee match with the bantamweight title on the line. The two first fought at UFC Fight Night 221 in March 2023. Dvalishvili defeated Yan that night in Las Vegas via unanimous decision. It was the last time Yan lost a fight.
At the time, Dvalishvili was on a rapid rise and handed Yan a third loss in a row. Following the loss to Dvalishvili, Yan put together a three-fight winning streak earning his way back to Saturday’s title fight rematch. Yan soundly defeated Dvalishvili on the scorecards to become a two-time UFC bantamweight champion.
Now that Davlishvili is no longer the bantamweight titleholder, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping offered some advice to the Georgian-American.
Related: Sean O’Malley loses his mind watching Petr Yan defeat Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323
“I would say, let Yan defend for a minute. Take a break, brother. Have a little bit of time off,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “You’ve done incredible things. You no doubt earned a tremendous amount of money. You’ve represented your country at the highest level and put yourself through it.
“Have three, four, five months off. Rest on your laurels. Reap the rewards of your riches and your spoils. Okay? Relax. Take a break,” continued Bisping. “Let the body and the mind relax a little bit. Then come back and look to (re)take your throne.”
