Merab Dvalishvili Still Next for Champion Petr Yan Despite Lack of Activity, Claims Coach

Merab Dvalishvili put his UFC bantamweight title on the line a record four times in 2025. After 3 successful defenses, the ‘Machine’ would lose his belt in December to Petr Yan, a former opponent. But now it seems the Georgian is nearing a return, with his coach revealing that they already have a name.

The 35-year-old had actually been on the sidelines for a while recently after further injuring his nose in sparring. He disclosed on social media that his nose would need surgery, followed by a prolonged recovery period to fully heal. So, the Georgian bantamweight revealed that he has decided to put off the surgery till he retires.

This means that Merab Dvalishvili is ready to fight again after this brief period of inactivity. To that end, his coach, John Wood, revealed that the Machine’s next fight will be a trilogy fight against Petr Yan to settle their rivalry. All that remains is for the champion to sign the contract, according to Wood.

Merab is one of those guys that we’ve seen obviously will literally fight tomorrow if you called him and said ‘Hey we need you on this card.’ We’re literally just waiting for Yan to give the time and the date, that was the opponent that’s been told to us, I don’t think that’s gonna change.

John Wood via Jake Noecker

👀🇬🇪 Coach John Wood confirms that Petr Yan is the name that has been given to Merab Dvalishvili for his next fight, they’re just waiting on a time and date:

“Merab is one of those guys that we’ve seen obviously will literally fight tomorrow if you called him and said ‘hey we… pic.twitter.com/obTRe8MdwN

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 20, 2026

The defeat at UFC 323 was the Machine’s first loss in over 7 years. The Georgian fighter could have broken the record for consecutive title defenses at bantamweight while also setting the record for most defenses in a calendar year with a win last December. However, things ultimately did not go his way.

John Wood had earlier described the atmosphere in their camp following the loss to Petr Yan. The former champion’s longtime coach revealed that loss at UFC 323 was a crushing blow.

John Wood said Merab Dvalishvili’s loss to Petr Yan was like a nightmare

Back in 2023, Merab Dvalishvili put on a clinic against Petr Yan. The ‘Machine’ lived up to his moniker by breaking the record for most takedown attempts in a single UFC fight. Dvalishvili attempted 49 takedowns, obliterating the previous record of 33 held by Cain Velasquez. The Russian later tried to blame the loss on a broken arm. However, his approach to fighting the ‘Machine’ clearly needed work.

As such, the rematch went very differently, with the Russian bantamweight champion making all the right adjustments. He negated the Dvalishvili’s forward pressure by flipping the script and putting the then-champion on the back foot. The two-time bantamweight champion was also very stationary in his first fight with Dvalishvili, often shelling up right in front of the Georgian, enabling his grappling.

This time around, ‘No Mercy’ was careful to shell up only while moving away, so takedowns would be hard-fought for his opponent. All these adjustments opened up Yan’s A-game — his striking.

The Russian striker used his advantage in that area to batter Dvalishivili, avenging his loss from 2 years prior. The former bantamweight champion’s coach revealed to MMA Fighting how this loss felt like a nightmare while giving Yan credit.

Sometimes, it doesn’t go the way you want it to go. It’s like waking up from a nightmare. This doesn’t go away. I thought we had the right things going on in this camp, and it was a quick camp, and it was a hard camp. There’s a lot of things that go on behind the scenes. But it was Petr’s night.

John Wood via MMA Fighting

Nonetheless, the Georgian fighter will soon get a chance to right the wrongs of last winter, per Wood’s aforementioned revelation. But as he waits for Petr Yan to confirm their grudge match, Merab Dvalishvili has other things on his plate. The bantamweight is set to make his RAF debut at RAF 09 against UFC legend and former champion Frankie Edgar.

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