Petr Yan open to rematching Sean O’Malley next if he beats Merab Dvalishvili: “If I have to do it again, I will do it more convincingly”

By Cole Shelton - March 9, 2023

Petr Yan is open to running it back with Sean O’Malley should he defeat Merab Dvalishvili on Saturday night.

Petr Yan, Sean O'Malley

Yan is set to headline UFC Las Vegas against Merab Dvalishvili as the Russian is coming off a controversial split decision loss to O’Malley. It was his second straight loss and he is just 1-3 in his last four – with the other two losses coming by another split decision to Aljamain Sterling and a DQ against ‘Funkmaster’.

With Yan losing two straight split decisions, the Russian says he is focusing on finishing fights which he plans to do against Dvalishvili.

“I made a decision if I need to move forward, I need to forget about the past,” Yan said at UFC Las Vegas media day. “So I’m just thinking about the future. 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.”

Although Petr Yan is confident heading into his main event scrap against Merab Dvalishvili he says he isn’t overlooking him. But, should he get his hand raised, Yan says he would be open to a rematch with Sean O’Malley and this time around, he plans to beat him more convincingly.

“I think I need to win the fight first and then we’ll see what’s next,” Yan said. I think I already beat O’Malley. If I have to do it again I will do it more convincingly.”

Petr Yan (16-4), as mentioned, has lost back-to-back fights to O’Malley and Sterling by split decision. Prior to that, he beat Cory Sandhagen by decision to win the interim title after losing his belt by DQ to Sterling. In his career, the former bantamweight champ holds notable wins over Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, John Dodson, and Jimmie Rivera.

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Topics:

Petr Yan Sean O'Malley UFC