Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili Targeted for UFC Fight Night 221 Headliner

A pivotal bantamweight matchup is in the works for UFC Fight Night 221, as Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili are expected to meet on March 11.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal was first to report the bout. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the pairing. UFC Fight Night 221 takes place at the The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

Yan, a former 135-pound champ, has lost three of his last four promotional appearances. Most recently, “No Mercy” suffered a controversial split-decision loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 280 this past October. Yan’s resume includes triumphs over the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, Jimmie Rivera and John Dodson.

Dvalishvili, a training partner of reigning bantamweight champ and two-time Yan opponent Aljamain Sterling, enters the matchup on an eight-fight UFC winning streak. In his lone appearance of 2022, “The Machine” outpointed Aldo at UFC 278.