Merab Dvalishvili has made a clear statement that he intends to sit out and wait for as long as it takes to ensure his next fight is a chance to avenge his bantamweight title loss to Petr Yan.
“I’m waiting for Petr Yan because this fight makes sense,” Dvalishvili said on ‘The Ariel Helwani Show’ this week. “Now we’re 1-1. I beat him in 2023, and he beat me and opened me up good in 2025. I have no excuse, of course I was going through some injuries, some hard training sessions. But now we both have good time to prepare, and I want to challenge myself to see who’s gonna win the trilogy. I’m sure everyone will be excited for this one. It’s worth the wait, and after this fight, we move on.”
That could keep Dvalishvili out of action for quite some time as Yan had to undergo lumbar surgery in January that is expected to keep him sidelined until the summer months at the earliest.
The 35-year-old Dvalishvili has already fought a who’s who of 135lb leading contenders in recent years, including having four title fights in 2025, so there’s no need for him to rush back, and this break from competing could actually prove beneficial for him in the long run.
