Sean O’Malley wants another shot at Petr Yan after Yan beat Merab Dvalishvili for the third time on October 24, 2026, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. O’Malley also predicts Song Yadong would knock out Dvalishvili in a three-round fight.
Yan Retains the Title After Five Rounds
Sean O’Malley addressed the fight on his YouTube channel after Petr Yan, a Russian fighter, retained the UFC bantamweight title over Merab Dvalishvili, who is Georgian and trains out of Las Vegas, in their trilogy bout, the co-main event of UFC 333 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. All three judges scored it 48-47 for Yan after five rounds. Yan had already taken the title back from Dvalishvili in their second meeting, at UFC 323 in December, where the Georgian was defending his own belt at the time. UFC 333 was Yan’s first defense since reclaiming it. The event aired on Paramount+ in the United States. UFC 333 carried two title fights on the same night: Alexander Volkanovski stopped Movsar Evloev to retain the featherweight title in the main event before Yan and Dvalishvili closed the show. O’Malley has already beaten both Yan and Song Yadong, and says that record makes him the top contender for the title. Full results from the card are available on our UFC results page.
Yan’s win also completed a rare turnaround. He had lost three fights in a row, to Aljamain Sterling, Sean O’Malley and then Merab Dvalishvili, before beating Dvalishvili at UFC 323 to reclaim the title for a second time. According to a stat cited from the account MMAonPoint, no UFC fighter had previously regained a belt after dropping three straight fights.
The Fight Turns in Round Three
Dvalishvili controlled the first two rounds on all three scorecards. He shot for a takedown right away in round one, Yan defended it, and Dvalishvili eventually got him down in the final minute before Yan popped right back up. Round two followed the same pattern, in the Georgian’s favor. The fight turned in round three: Yan started landing clean, a body shot appeared to hurt Dvalishvili and pushed him onto the back foot. Yan repeated that body shot in round four and pressed forward with precise combinations. Dvalishvili pushed the pace again in round five and looked for another takedown, but Yan’s accuracy at range made the difference on the scorecards.
O’Malley’s Prediction for Song vs. Dvalishvili
O’Malley also gave his prediction for a possible fight between Song Yadong and Dvalishvili. “Three-round fight, Song Yadong knocks out Merab for sure,” he said. He pointed to Song’s explosiveness, takedown defense and reaction time. “He’s just so explosive and he’s just gonna be hard to take down,” O’Malley said. “His reaction time is so fast. I think he can put Merab’s lights out.”
Dvalishvili’s Response After the Loss
Dvalishvili reacted on X after the decision was announced. He thanked his corner, including Aljamain Sterling, Davey Grant, Zviad Lazishvili and John Wood, his Las Vegas training partners, the UFC, and his family and fans. “I am healthy and motivated and will be back soon!” he wrote. “This Machine never breaks! See you all soon.” He said he cannot wait to return to the cage, without naming a next opponent or date. Both fighters earned 100,000 dollar Fight of the Night bonuses for the bout.
A Crowded Bantamweight Division
Song Yadong, a Chinese fighter with a 24-9-1 record and 1 no contest, has won twice by stoppage since losing to O’Malley in January, submitting Deiveson Figueiredo in May and knocking out Umar Nurmagomedov in Shanghai in August. Those two results keep him near the top of the bantamweight rankings. O’Malley (20-3, 1 no contest) last fought in June, stopping Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250. Dvalishvili (21-6) has no new opponent announced, and Yan has not named his next title defense either, though O’Malley made clear on his broadcast that he wants the call. Three names are already circulating for the top of the bantamweight division: Yan, O’Malley and Song Yadong, with Dvalishvili looking to work his way back into that picture after losing the belt he had held for a long stretch. O’Malley’s comments came within days of the Abu Dhabi card, with UFC Vegas 123 on October 31 the promotion’s next scheduled event. Current rankings are available on our UFC rankings page.
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