UFC Fight Night Predictions – Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili: Fight Card, Odds, Start Time, Live Stream

Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili are trying to stay afloat in the shark-infested bantamweight waters. The two are expected to clash at the Virgin Hotels Theater in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Yan (16-4) remains one of the best bantamweights on the planet but finds himself in dire need of a turnaround after back-to-back decision losses to UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley. O’Malley’s fight was particularly painful with 25 of 26 media scores in favor of Yan, according to MMA Decisions. The Russian finds himself on the back of a losing streak for the first time in his career and the threat of his first losing streak if he fails on Saturday. An angry Yan considered leaving the UFC after his controversial loss to O’Malley, but was surprised by the emotions leading up to the Dvalishvili fight.

“I decided that if I have to move forward, I have to forget about the past. So I’m just thinking about the future,” Yan told reporters at Wednesday’s press day. . “You always want to finish the fight earlier, you don’t want to leave it in the hands of the judges. So, my goal is to finish it.

“I think I beat O’Malley already. If I have to do it again I’ll do it more convincingly.”

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Dvalishvili (15-4) unleashed something special after a rough 0-2 start in the UFC. Dvalishvili later went on an eight-run tear against the likes of Jose Aldo, Marlon Moraes, Cody Stamann and John Dodson. Topping 10 takedowns in three separate UFC fights is perhaps the best example of Dvalishvili’s grappling wrestling game. Dvalishvili can make a decent case for a title shot with an impressive showing against Yan. Dvalishvili has been unusually motivated in the fight. He criticized Yan for illegally kneeing Dvalishvili’s dear friend Sterling at UFC 259 and accused Yan of bad manners in general.

“He is a good fighter. He is dangerous. He has no holes anywhere. He is a good striker,” said Dvalishvili. “He defends wrestle well. His cardio is good. This is my toughest fight. I think he’s a good fighter, a good family man, but not a man He’s humble. He’s not a good man. It doesn’t matter how good he is. You’re a fighter, you have to be a good man.

“You have to treat people well. I don’t care if you’re a good hero or not. I just want to be a good person to people and set an example for others. He’s a cheater. He was the champion and he didn’t know the rules He was disrespectful to my friend He didn’t use his platform when he was a champion He didn’t do good things He didn’t do any charity or ‘doing humble things. don’t think he’s a good man.”

Yan insists that the animation is one-sided and that he is not interested in feeding Dvalishvii’s gluttonous self-promotion.

“I think he has no other way to draw attention to himself,” Yan said. “He can’t do it with his fights. In his fights, all he has, like a dog, is his leg to pick up and push his opponents up to the cage. So he’s just trying to get some attention or something. Nobody’s interested in him.

“I’m not interested in promoting it either. He tries to push himself too hard. He tries to make himself like fans, but it doesn’t work out that way. The way he works off camera is different. it works on camera in a different way. When there’s no camera it doesn’t say much.”

Dvalishvili’s long-time coach Ray Longo has benefited from preparing Sterling for Yan on two separate occasions, but sees Saturday’s main event as a unique challenge.

“They’re so different in their approach,” Longo told CBS Sports. “I think because Aljo’s hard approach and jiu-jitsu style is very subtle. It’s not going to be at Merab. He’s more of a power based guy. Merab doesn’t move like Aljo, he doesn’t kick like He has to fight Merab and that’s the interesting part We know what to expect for some things, but it’s not just linear logic like that. there.”

Check out the full interview with Ray Longo below.

The undercard will be filled with exciting matches on Saturday night. Heavyweights collide in the co-main event when Alexander Romanov takes on Alexander Volkov. Romanov is coming off the first loss of his career last August after starting with a 16-fight win streak. Volkov, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses in his last four and is coming off a TKO victory over Jair Rozenstruik. In addition, a failed main event gets a second chance at life when Nikita Krylov takes on Ryan Spann at catchweight. The two were set to meet a few weeks ago until Krylov came down with an illness just hours before the fight was set to begin.

“I take my food on Friday afternoon, and on Saturday morning I take food. After 90 minutes, maybe two hours, I feel that my temperature is getting higher. i feel [nauseous]. us [came to the APEX] working with the doctor. He gave me one pill. After one more pill we tried (as much as we could to make the fight),” Krylov told reporters on Wednesday, “I couldn’t do it.”

Below is the rest of the fight card for Saturday night with the latest odds from Caesars Sportsbook before we get to predictions and picks for the main event.

UFC Fight Night card, odds

UFC Fight Night viewing information

Date: March 11 | Start time: 6pm ET (main card)
Location: The Theater at Virgin Hotels – Las Vegas, Nevada
TV channel: ESPN+

Prediction

Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili: I’m not ready to cancel Yan yet. O’Malley’s loss is debatable and Sterling’s fight was very competitive. Dvalishvili can definitely ground Yan, but I’m not sure he can maintain top control with the same effectiveness that Sterling did in the second Yan fight. Dvalishvili has an unusually high average of 6.54 takedowns per fight with an accuracy rate of 60%, but only manages .30 submissions per 15 minutes. Yan has a strong defensive save of 90% and is a capable offensive guard himself, going a perfect seven-for-seven on takedowns in his first meeting with Sterling. The gap in skill between Dvalishvili and Yan is wider in the striking department. Yan is one of the best bantamweight boxers in terms of technique and power. This fight will come down to Dvalishvili’s ability to stick with Yan over 25 minutes. A close decision is definitely in play for either fighter. Yan usually needs time to do his readings. Expect a strong first two rounds for Dvalishvili followed by a competitive home stretch. Yan by decision

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