This is the UFC Las Vegas live blog for Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili, the bantamweight main event fight on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Since winning the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 251, things have gone awry for Yan. In his first title defense, he lost the belt by disqualification after illegally kneeing Aljamain Sterling in the head, while Sterling was grounded. Yan then rebounded by beating Cory Sandhagen, but he lost his rematch with Sterling by split decision. After another split decision loss in a fight this past October with Sean O’Malley, the man who was once viewed as a potential long-reigning champion had lost three of his previous four fights.
A loss to Dvalishvili tonight would be catastrophic for Yan’s title aspirations.
Dvalishvili has not suffered from the same issues that Yan has in recent fights. Unbeaten since 2018, the Georgian fighter has rattled off eight straight victories in the UFC. In normal circumstances, he already would have secured a title shot, but with his friend and teammate Sterling holding the 135-pound belt, he is left to take another fight while he waits for his crack to become a world champion.
Check out the UFC Las Vegas live blog below.
