Merab Dvalishvili was injured when Petr Yan beat him in dominant fashion during their UFC 323 fight from December 2025.
That’s according to Dvalishvili himself, who did his best to avoid spilling any specifics … but did eventually admit he fought hurt during an interview with Shakiel Mahjouri.
“I told UFC if they need me, I was there,” Dvalishvili said of the fight. “And I was willing to fight four times in the year, and I was gonna take a fight against the the best, most deserving guy. I knew that
it was a risk, but I like to take challenges. I like to take a risk. That’s who I am. That’s what got me here.”
“During the camp there were things, you know,” he continued. “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.”
Dvalishvili clearly loved being champion, but somehow he took losing the belt in stride.
“After I lost, I was fine. I just moved on,” Merab said. “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. I was ready to come back in May because I knew our fight was not gonna happen until June. But then Petr did surgery, now everything is relaxed. Everything is chill, chill now.”
Yan had back surgery in January, but the timing worked out all right because Davlishvili ended up breaking his nose again in April. He put off surgery rather than be out a year, and now he’s just waiting for a call from the UFC.
“I’m just hoping right after June, like, July,” he said. “But whenever UFC needs us because Petr already said he’s ready for June, so that means he’s ready in July and August.”
For now, Dvalishvili will keep himself occupied by wrestling Henry Cejudo at Real American Freestyle 08 in Philadelphia this Saturday April 18th.
“I like to be busy,” he said of RAF08. “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.”
