Petr Yan must stick to past gameplan for UFC 333 rubber match
Petr Yan is gearing up for his rematch with Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333, and he must not forget what led to his success the last time.
Petr Yan will defend his UFC bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event of UFC 333. It's one of the biggest fights of the year, and if Yan hopes to emerge victorious, he must build on his prior success against 'The Machine'.
The keys to Petr Yan's success against Merab Dvalishvili
UFC 333 will mark the third time that Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili will meet inside the octagon. Their first encounter at UFC Fight Night 221 was a dominant unanimous decision in Dvalishvili's favor, while their rematch at UFC 323 was a Yan masterclass, with 'No Mercy' handing him a beatdown to win via unanimous decision. It stands to reason that Dvalishvili will be better prepared for their trilogy bout, but Yan's path to victory is now clear. He must not abandon the tactics that helped him so much previously, because Dvalishvili is ready. Despite being a notoriously slow starter, Yan did well to counter Dvalishvili's relentless pressure as early as round one, stopping 'The Machine' from getting close enough for his volume boxing to create openings for takedowns.
Yan never forgot to trap Dvalishvili's lead hand, before landing left hooks to the body to stop his forward momentum. These body shots paid dividends later in the fight, not only sapping Dvalishvili's gas tank, but also accumulating damage to the point where Dvalishvili started reacting very poorly to them. Another tool Yan used to keep Dvalishvili at a longer range was an intercepting sidekick to the knee every time 'The Machine' tried to hop in and close the distance. Forced to fight from a longer range than he's used to, Dvalishvili's takedowns became easier to see coming, and Yan had enough time to sprawl whenever he shot. It worked well, but it wasn't flawless. Dvalishvili still got a hold of him at times, but Yan was prepared.
It's not enough to stop Dvalishvili's takedowns. Fighters must also separate from him because as long as he has a hold of them, he can continue chaining takedown attempts or, at the very least, stall the fight out by pinning his opponent against the fence with a bodylock or takedown attempt, which he did to Yan in their first fight, and also did to the great Josรฉ Aldo at UFC 278 in his unanimous decision win. To prevent this from happening to him in their first rematch, Yan both fought the hands and smashed Dvalishvili's forearms with elbows every time he gave up a bodylock. This ultimately weakened 'The Machine's' grip and allowed Yan to break free. But, it wasn't enough for Yan to counter Dvalishvili's game, he also had to create danger.
The cumulative damage from his bodyshots led to big moments in the fight, like Yan's bodykicks, which always got big reactions from Dvalishvili, and it all came from their setups. Everyone who fights Yan knows he's mainly a boxer, so they often forget about the other tricks in his bag, like his kicks. So, whenever Dvalishvili exited boxing range, he assumed he was out of the danger zone, allowing Yan to surprise him with round kicks to the body. 'No Mercy' would also use a left hand to raise Dvalishvili's guard, exposing his midsection to more kicks.
A more underrated part of Yan's success at UFC 323 was his offensive wrestling. He shot for takedowns, and even completed a few, which gave Dvalishvili more to think about. The reality that he couldn't just walk forward without possibly ending up with his back on the mat meant that Dvalishvili had to think more about his pressure and entries than he usually does, slowing him down.
Of course, there's no guarantee that Yan will find the same kind of success this Saturday. Dvalishvili will be well-prepared, but Yan is as confident as he's ever been, and he will be determined to finally get a successful UFC title defense under his belt, while Dvalishvili will look to avenge the worst loss of his career.
