Petr Yan issued a fiery response to Merab Dvalishvili for attempting to make their upcoming bout personal due to political reasons.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan was last seen in action against current top contender Sean O’Malley at UFC 280 last October. Yan put in an impressive performance and battled it out with O’Malley the full distance. Eventually, ‘Suga’ Sean managed to edge out Yan on the judges’ scorecards by a split decision in a razor-thin contest that many argued could’ve swung either way.
Ahead of his next appearance, Merab bashed Yan for being arrogant and explained his motivations to finish him due to him allegedly being a ‘Russian bully.’ Merab, who hails from Georgia, made it clear it was more than just a sporting competition for him.
Petr Yan trashes Merab for trying to make the fight personal
During the pre-fight press conference for UFC Fight Night 221, Petr Yan fired a hit back at Merab for trying to make the fight a personal battle based on political reasons unrelated to them and the competition.
“He doesn’t have any other way to bring attention to himself,” said Yan. “He cannot do it with his fights. In his fights, all he does is like a dog you know, takes the legs and pushes the opponent to the cage. He’s just trying to take a little attention with something else. No one is interested in him.”
Yan took the bout to get off the sidelines and is hoping for a finish.
“Because no one else from the top five were available at the moment and I didn’t want to stay out of the action. I just wanted to stay active and Merab was a good choice to beat.”
“You always want to finish the fight earlier. You don’t want to leave it in the hands of the judges and yes, my goal is to finish this fight early.”
Yan says Merab acts differently on camera
‘No Mercy’ talked about an infamous clip of his interaction with Merab that’s doing rounds on the internet. He claimed Merab is putting on a show for the cameras and doesn’t carry the same energy off it.
“I was leaving the hotel to train at the PI and he came up to me. He was asking for a cross-interview with The Schmo to promote the fight but like I already mentioned, no one is interested in Merab. I’m not interested in promoting him either. He tried to push himself too hard. He tried to force himself on being fan favorite but it never works out that way. The way he acts off camera is different than what he acts on camera.”
Petr Yan will face Merab in the headlining fight of UFC Fight Night 221 this Saturday, Mar. 11 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada.
