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Merab Dvalishvili vs Petr Yan

It was announced on instagram today that Merab Dvalishvili & Petr Yan will be coaching opposite each other on this coming season of HYPE Global Reality, a “TUF-like” reality show based in Russia. Not many details are released yet, but more announcements are expected in the coming weeks.

Based on the history of the show, viewers can expect each fighter to have a team of fighters they coach that compete against each other throughout the season. At the end of the season, if fans are lucky, Dvalishvili & Yan might even fight each other. Although a fight of this magnitude would be be a much better fit for the UFC.

Image courtesy: @hype.fighting on Instagram

History of HYPE Global Reality

Last season of HYPE Global Reality was coached by UFC’s Arman Tsarukyan and Khamzat Chimaev. After last season’s success, many Russian fans were pleased at the announcement of Dvalishvili & Yan coaching this upcoming season.

Although fans never got a fight between Chimaev & Tsarukyan, they were lucky enough to get an epic grappling match. Hopefully Dvalishvili & Yan do more than BJJ after their season of coaching against each other, preferably a UFC title fight.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Merab & Yan Title Rematch

Many fans are hopeful that Merab Dvalishvili will rematch Petr Yan next for the UFC bantamweight title. Their initial encounter took place in March 2023 at UFC Fight Night 221, where Dvalishvili dominated Yan with a relentless pace and an unprecedented 49 takedown attempts, breaking the UFC record for most takedown attempts in a single fight. Dvalishvili secured 11 takedowns, leading to a unanimous decision victory (50-45 on all scorecards) in a fight that was as much about cardio as it was about technique.

Since their last meeting, both fighters have had lots of success. Dvalishvili has maintained his undefeated streak in the UFC, leading to him capturing the bantamweight title from Sean O’Malley at UFC 306. Meanwhile, Yan has bounced back with two consecutive wins, most notably defeating Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Fight Night 248 in Macau.

After this victory, Yan explicitly called for a rematch with Dvalishvili. Fans are eager for this rematch due to the stylistic contrast between the two – Yan’s striking versus Dvalishvili’s wrestling. Not many other contenders are lining up to face Dvalishvili and Yan might be the only one who could challenge his reign of supremacy.

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By Published On: January 27th, 2025Categories: Latest UFC News: Results, Rumors & More at Home Of Fight