Joe Pyfer Makes UFC 333: Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili 3 Prediction

 The middleweight also wants Yan to rematch Sean O'Malley, predicting the Russian would beat O'Malley in a second fight.

Joe Pyfer Picks Petr Yan to Beat Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333

Pyfer gave his prediction during an interview with Tim Welch in a clip shared by Red Corner MMA on X. Despite being a fan of Dvalishvili and O’Malley, Pyfer picked Yan to win at UFC 333.

“I’m a big fan of Petr Yan, so I think Petr Yan’s going to be able to get it. I’m also a fan of Merab, obviously I’m a fan of O’Malley,” Pyfer said.

The bout will be the third meeting between Yan and Dvalishvili, with both fighters having won one of their previous two encounters. Dvalishvili took the first fight by unanimous decision in March 2023, but Yan got one back with a unanimous decision win at UFC 323 in December 2025 to reclaim the bantamweight title.

Joe Pyfer Calls for Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley Rematch

Pyfer also weighed in on how Yan matches up against O’Malley, who lost the bantamweight title to Dvalishvili in 2024 and was then submitted by The Machine in a 2025 title rematch.

“I just think that’s a bad stylistic match-up for O’Malley,” Pyfer said.

O’Malley and Yan fought at UFC 280 in October 2022, with Suga winning a controversial split decision.

“I would like to see Petr Yan and O’Malley run it back, but I do think Petr Yan’s going to be able to possibly, I think he’s going to beat him worse this time if not finish him,” he added.

If Yan wins at UFC 333 and successfully defends his title, he could next defend the belt against Sean O’Malley, who is currently on a two-fight winning streak. O’Malley has also said he wants to wait and see how the Yan vs. Dvalishvili 3 fight plays out before accepting another bout.

However, if Yan loses to Dvalishvili, O’Malley would find it difficult to secure another title shot, having lost to the Georgian fighter in both of their previous encounters.