Petr Yan: Merab Dvalishvili didn’t need to prepare for Sean O'Malley

Former champion Petr Yan criticized Merab Dvalishvili's bantamweight title reign, highlighting debate around recent UFC accomplishments. In comments on The Ariel Helwani Show, Petr Yan said two of Merab Dvalishvili's four defenses came against Sean O'Malley and were decisive. He referenced Dvalishvili's 2024 run, which included Umar Nurmagomedov, an O'Malley rematch, and Cory Sandhagen before their UFC 323 bout in December. Yan won a unanimous decision there to claim the title. Dvalishvili had defeated Yan in 2023; Yan said he fought that bout with a hand injury and asserted Dvalishvili did not prepare seriously for the rematch.