Merab Dvalishvili says he went into his UFC 323 title fight with Petr Yan injured, but chose to compete anyway and now expects a rematch with the new champion.
Dvalishvili revealed that UFC doctors told him he could pull out of the December 2025 bout, yet he fought on. He later broke his nose again in April and postponed surgery, while Yan underwent back surgery in January.
"Like some UFC doctors told me that I can pull out, but that’s not who I am. You know? I don’t wanna to make an excuse. I like to deal with challenges. And I had the same, same thing or worse situation before some fights, and I did still make it through and still win those fights. But this time, I wasn’t able to win."
According to Dvalishvili, the UFC has told him he will receive a rematch against Yan. "The most important [thing], UFC told me that I was gonna get a rematch against the new champion. So I’m just very, very relaxed now," he said, adding that he is hoping to fight Yan again after June, possibly in July.
Before that, Dvalishvili is set to stay active by wrestling Henry Cejudo at Real American Freestyle 08 in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 18. "I like to be busy," he said. "And wrestling is pretty much, like, my training session. Like, it’s gonna be just fun … I’m gonna win this match-up, and then I will focus for [title] fight."
