Dvalishvili On Yan's Threat At UFC 333

Merab Dvalishvili says he learned a hard lesson about preparation heading into his UFC 333 trilogy with Petr Yan.

The former bantamweight champion, who lost his belt to Yan by unanimous decision at UFC 323 last year, told Ariel Helwani that his Russian rival will destroy him again if his training camp isn't managed better this time around. Dvalishvili admitted he burned himself out before the rematch by working too hard without taking breaks, per BJPenn.com.

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What Dvalishvili Said About Training For Yan

"I have one of the toughest challenges in front of me, and usually I do very well when I know I have a tough opponent and challenge," Dvalishvili said. "I'm working very hard, but now I'm trying to be smarter. I was working hard for the last fight, but wasn't taking breaks, and I was just burning myself out."

Dvalishvili, who holds one win over Yan from their first meeting, said the rematch surprised him with how hard the current champion hits. He acknowledged that Yan will never be an easy matchup for him and that the power differential became clear during their second fight.

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The Georgian also said he needs to prepare exceptionally well or Yan will beat him badly again. The UFC 333 co-main event will settle the rivalry between the two bantamweights, with each man holding one win in the series.

UFC 333 takes place later this year with Yan defending his title against Dvalishvili in what many consider the biggest fight in bantamweight history.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Merab Dvalishvili admits Petr Yan could ‘beat the s—‘ out of him in UFC 333 trilogy