RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Umar Nurmagomedov believes Petr Yan proved he has Merab Dvalishvili 's number.
Yan (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) dethroned Dvalishvili to claim the bantamweight title at UFC 323 this past December. With Dvalishvili winning their first fight in March 2023, the pair will complete their trilogy when Yan defends his title against Dvalishvili (21-2 MMA, 14-3 UFC) in the UFC 333 co-main event on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi ( Paramount+ ).
Nurmagomedov (20-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) suffered his lone-career setback in a title loss to Dvalishvili at UFC 311 . He broke his hand in the fight where Dvalishvili rallied from being two rounds down to retain his belt. Nurmagomedov thinks Yan being healthy in his rematch with Dvalishvili made a huge difference.
"My bet is that Petr will get it done again," Nurmagomedov told Red Corner MMA . "He was healthy. A lot of things depend on your health. He was able to punch with his right hand. That's what I saw. In their first fight he couldn't do that as his shoulder was injured. In the second fight, he could use both of his hands, and it was a completely different story.
"I can see that if they are both healthy in the next fight, based on their skillsets, Petr has good boxing, Merab has wrestling, but he can't control opponents on the ground the way Aljamain Sterling did. Merab just can't because he doesn't have that level of grappling. So, he might take him down, but Petr will get up. That's why I don't see a different outcome."
Since losing to Dvalishvili, Nurmagomedov has defeated Mario Bautista and Deiveson Figueiredo. He will look to re-enter the title picture when he takes on Song Yadong (23-9-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 286 main event ( Paramount+ ) on Aug. 29 from Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in China.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Umar Nurmagomedov makes Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili prediction for UFC 333
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