WATCH: Ilia Topuria Reacts to Merab Dvalishvili’s UFC 333 Loss to Petr Yan

This past weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 333, Merab Dvalishvili had a chance to reclaim the bantamweight strap when he faced Yan for a third time inside the octagon. 

The Georgian fighter had a strong start as always. He did all the right things to confuse Yan in the first two rounds and kept the pace up. However, from the third round on, "No Mercy" began turning the tide in his favor by stuffing every takedown and targeting Dvalishvili’s liver with hard kicks. 

Yan also gave "The Machine" a hard time with his jab and combinations. Their third meeting played out much like their UFC 323 rematch. Yan, with his cold and calculated approach, cruised to a unanimous decision win to retain his bantamweight title. 

Former UFC two-division champion Ilia Topuria reacted to his friend Merab Dvalishvili’s loss at UFC 333. 

Topuria and his friends believed Dvalishvili had done enough to dethrone Petr Yan. However, after hearing the scores, Topuria said:

"48-47 Yan? Nooo. What are you saying?" 

Check out Ilia Topuria's reaction below:

What's Next for Merab Dvalishvili? 

After his UFC 333 performance, Merab Dvalishvili has nothing to feel bad about. Yes, he does not hold the bantamweight strap, but delivering a potential Fight of the Year contender is what matters. Fans around the world have praised his performance, and UFC brass have also applauded him.

What's next? 

"The Machine" must first have his nose fixed. At UFC 333, Dvalishvili started gassing out after 15 minutes, but still wanted to pressure fight and push an insane pace. Fixing his busted-up nose will improve his breathing and help him manage his cardio. 

For now, Dvalishvili will have to go back to the drawing board and will likely need one big finish or one to two impressive wins to earn another title shot. He could also consider moving up or down in weight, as he has already cleared most of the 135-pound division.