Who’s a loser now?! The Georgian liquidated the Russian star and delivered what he promised. Stop the war, glory to Ukraine, announced Dvalishvili

The UFC has another tournament under its belt. Unnumbered, but still awesome. And the fight in the main event was outstanding. It was former champion Peter Yan and Georgian prospect Merab Dvalishvili. It was said before the fight that it would be a very personal affair, which was confirmed.

Peter Yan is going through the toughest period of his career. The former UFC bantamweight champion and one of Russia’s biggest MMA stars has started to pick up defeats. He currently has three in a row, losing four of his last five fights.

After Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley, he was stepped on by Merab Dvalishvili. The Georgian fighter wanted to fill the Russian fighter with his own nickname – No Mercy. And that’s exactly what he delivered.

It was clear that the fight was going to be personal for Dvalishvili. He made no secret of it. He didn’t see Yano as a good man. He acknowledged him as a great fighter, took him as the toughest opponent he’d ever faced. But Yan is a Russian, and he has not distanced himself from Vladimir Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Moreover, Dvalishvili cannot ignore how Russia has treated or is treating his Georgia. “We all know what Russia is doing with Ukraine and what it did with Georgia. It is not a democratic country. I want to win for my people. I have a lot of support not only from Georgia but also from Ukraine,” he said before the match.

And his motivation went hugely evident in the match. Yan didn’t really get a chance to do anything in the match. Dvalishvili pushed all five rounds, dominated the standup, dominated on the ground, dominated everywhere. He kept an incredible pace and didn’t let the Russian star get into the fight.

One would like to say that Dvalishvili clearly dominated this battle. Yan wasn’t in any significant trouble though. He didn’t face any lethal submissions, nor was he significantly shaken. But despite Dvalishivili’s pressure, he could do nothing and his desperation was very evident at times.

The Georgian was always thinking of something. He combined all sorts of attacks. He attempted an incredible 49 takedowns, successfully delivering 11. He had almost double the number of significant strikes. In short, sheer dominance.

You’d think Dvalishvili would have claimed the title, but no. His friend Aljamain Sterling holds it and he’s not going to fight him. But otherwise, he’s going to take on anyone in the bantamweight division. So there are some interesting names in the mix.

And Sterling may very well one day challenge for a title in a higher weight class. Only then will Dvalishvili try to challenge for the bantam throne.

And what else did he say after winning? Understandably, he enjoyed the win and, incomprehensibly, still had a lot of energy. He reminded Yan of his own words when the Russian called the Georgian a zero. “Who’s a zero now?!” he asked in the cage.

Besides, Dvalishvili also expressed great pride in Georgia, reminded how small a country it actually is, and also expressed his anti-war stance. He also supported Ukraine with the now traditional slogan: “Glory to Ukraine!”

Source: UFC