John Wood expects Merab Dvalishvili to be in much better form at UFC 333.
Dvalishvili (21-2 MMA, 14-3 UFC) lost his bantamweight title to Petr Yan (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) last December at UFC 323. Dvalishvili won the first fight in March 2023, and the pair will now complete their trilogy in the Oct. 24 co-main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (Paramount+).
Injuries have been a big narrative in the first two fights. Yan revealed that he fought with a broken hand the first time, and Dvalishvili claimed that he entered UFC 323 with a knee injury, which had doctors telling him he could pull out of the rematch. After four fights in 2025, Wood says Dvalishvili is rejuvenated heading into the rubber match.
"Man, it's been great," Wood told Home of Fight.
"A much, much better camp, a thousand times better. There was a long way off there, and it was a little rough for him. He's not a guy that likes to sit on the sidelines, as we saw in his title run and title defenses, that he wants to stay busy, and he's a guy that needs to stay busy. He loves to put in the work. He's always a go, go, go guy.
"So, once it finally became official, you could see the pressure and the weight of waiting around kind of lift off him. And he got in, and he got going. It's a different Merab. It's just a different Merab. What I saw in sparring yesterday and how – I don't know that he's ever been in better cardio shape to be honest. He's just so motivated obviously to go back and avenge that last loss, get his title back, and put everything back the way it should be. It's been a good camp, very good camp."
Wood is adamant that a healthy Dvalishvili will be very tough to beat – even though betting odds have him as a slight underdog.
"Petr Yan is obviously currently the best fighter in the world, and I think he's a champion for a reason," Wood said. "He's very good, but I also know what kind of dog we got in the fight, and I know what Merab is capable of and how much he's improved. You're going to get hopefully the best version of Merab and the best version of Petr.
"And I think that when you have the best version of Merab showing up, I don't know if there's anybody in the world that can beat him. I think it's going to be one hell of a fight. I think it's going to be bloody, I think it's going to be a banger, I think it's going to be back-and-forth, and I see Merab coming out of this fight with his hand raised and that belt around his waist again."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Coach: Merab Dvalishvili has never been in 'better cardio shape' ahead of UFC 333
