Petr Yan lost every round when he last faced off with the present UFC bantamweight champion.
Merab Dvalishvili was overjoyed to search out out that he’d be headlining UFC 323 and receiving the chance to interrupt a record.
No UFC champion has ever achieved 4 title defenses in a single calendar 12 months, but that’s exactly what ‘The Machine’ is aiming for next month in Las Vegas.
Just like their first meeting, many predict a dominant win for Dvalishvili over Petr Yan after how one-sided their 2023 bout was.
A UFC legend who knows what it’s like to take a seat at the highest of the bantamweight division believes that the Russian challenger can prove people unsuitable if he could make one adjustment.
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Dominick Cruz says it’s ‘very possible’ that Petr Yan significantly reduces Merab Dvalishvili’s takedowns
Merab Dvalishvili has proven himself to be a nightmare matchup for other fighters within the bantamweight division.
Joe Rogan highlighted Dvalishvili’s win over Henry Cejudo as a moment that showed just how impressive and “unstoppable” the Georgian champion is.
It’s no secret that his key to victory against Petr Yan the primary time around, because it is against all of his opponents, was his relentless takedowns, attempting a staggering 49 of them in total.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz believes that Yan could pull off an upset of their rematch if he’s in a position to significantly reduce this number.
While ‘The Dominator’ said during an appearance on The Bohnfire that the challenger was taken down 50 times in his loss to Dvalishvili, he was seemingly referring to attempts as an alternative.
“Just get taken down ten times as an alternative of fifty and also you’ll probably win. Take into consideration that for a second, it’s really that straightforward. Cut 40 takedowns off, is that possible for Petr Yan? I believe it’s very possible.”
The UFC legend went on to talk about how the challenger was vulnerable to constant takedown attempts because he fights on a straight line, urging him to make use of more side to side movement of their upcoming rematch.
“That is what he [Dvalishvili] does so if you happen to’re Petr Yan, what do you bought to do?” Cruz continued. “Well, if I just get it to 10 takedowns as an alternative of fifty, I already gave myself a 40% higher likelihood.”
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Dominick Cruz continues to be ahead of Merab Dvalishvili in bantamweight title defenses
Merab Dvalishvili has proven time and time again that discouraging him from shooting for takedowns is seemingly unattainable.
He doesn’t change his bulldozer-like approach opponent no matter who’s he facing, and that hasn’t led to his remarkable 14-fight win streak ending.
Is Merab Dvalishvili the best bantamweight of all time?
While many consider that Dvalishvili has already proven himself to be the best bantamweight of all time, Dominick Cruz, who can be within the conversation, still has an edge over ‘The Machine’ in a single area.
“I don’t think it’s really for me to speak about because I’m in the talk, so it’s hard,” Cruz said on The Bohnfire. “I’ll just say that I believe it’s as much as the fans and he’s beating a record, so I’ll give him that, but I believe I even have six total title defenses (actually five, one within the UFC and 4 within the WEC).
“That might mean he’d need one other three and let me let you know how hard it’s to win three titles. I believe that matters.”