Merab Dvalishvili built his reputation as being one of the most active UFC champions in history but now he’s playing the waiting game as a challenger once again.
After coming up short in his bid to defend his bantamweight title four times in the same calendar year when he dropped a decision to Petr Yan this past December, Dvalishvili took time off to rest and recover but he’s been ready to fight again for quite some time. Unfortunately, he’s still waiting on Yan as the current champion to decide when he’s ready to come back to compete again.
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As he prepares for his wrestling debut at RAF 9 on Saturday, Dvalishvili confesses he’s still in the dark about when the Yan trilogy might happen but he’s determined to wait so he can get his title back.
“I don’t hear anything from him,” Dvalishvili told MMA Fighting about Yan. “He don’t want to fight yet. I don’t know what is the situation. We all see his interview, he was ready in June for the White House but they have already announced the July fight card. They’re going to announce the August fight card soon.
“They haven’t told me anything. All I know is I’m fighting Yan but I don’t know when. I don’t know the time. It looks like Petr is taking his time.”
Yan needed back surgery after beating Dvalishvili this past December to even the score at one fight a piece after the Georgian earned a lopsided decision over him in their first encounter.
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The surgery and recovery time obviously delayed Yan from returning to action right away but as the UFC calendar continues to fill up, there’s still no word when the bantamweight title fight might happen.
For his part, Dvalishvili can’t complain too much because he’s getting the title shot he wanted with a chance to avenge his loss to Yan. Add to that, Dvalishvili understands he doesn’t have the same kind of influence as challenger as he did when he was champion.
“Hey, this is the game we’re in,” Dvalishvili said. “Sometimes you have to wait. When I was champion, I can push the UFC, I can tell [them] ‘hey, UFC keep me busy, I want to fight soon’ and the UFC keeps me busy.
“Now I’m not a champion and I have to wait for my opponent. This is the game. This is the situation and I understand. That’s why I was rushing and when I have the opportunity to fight more often, I’ll still do the same. But now unfortunately I have to wait for him.”
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With the Yan trilogy still in limbo, Dvalishvili decided to keep busy in other ways, which is what led to him signing with RAF where he was originally scheduled for a match against former rival Henry Cejudo.
The matchup was eventually cancelled after Cejudo dropped of the card at the last minute so Dvalishvili’s debut was pushed back to RAF 9 where he now faces UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar instead.
While Cejudo was an Olympic gold medalist, Edgar has plenty of history with wrestling himself after he was a four-time NCAA qualifier while competing at Clarion University. He’s also coached at Rutgers University before and worked extensively with Olympic bronze medalist Sebastian Rivera.
“I was disappointed when my wrestling match got canceled against Henry Cejudo but they offered me Frankie Edgar for May 30 and I’m excited,” Dvalishvili said. “But at the same time I have so much respect for Frankie Edgar. The good thing is I’m still focused on MMA.
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“Wrestling, I’m just going to go have fun and do my best in wrestling. I’m still training MMA. I’m not trying to become a wrestler. I think it’s a good matchup because Frankie Edgar has a wrestling background and he’s a wrestler. I’m a judo guy but I am a good MMA wrestler so let’s see.”
Dvalishvili says he’s still open to the Cejudo match in the future if that’s something RAF wants to book again, especially if that means a potential homecoming.
“Hopefully he will come back soon,” Dvalishvili said about Cejudo. “RAF wants to go to Georgia and hopefully we can wrestle in Georgia, me and Henry Cejudo. It will be a great match.”
As he continues waiting for Yan to get ready to fight again, Dvalishvili is admittedly thankful that RAF is keeping him busy in the meantime.
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Waiting has never been Dvalishvili’s strong suit but he never stops training so he’ll be ready whenever the UFC gives him a call to say the Yan trilogy is scheduled.
“I want to be busy,” Dvalishvili said. “That’s why I’m doing this RAF. I like the competition, challenge myself, give people an [entertaining] fight in wrestling. I’m staying busy and just keep challenging myself. I’m fine. I’m waiting for Petr Yan patiently. He’s taking his time and let’s see when the champion wants to come back and fight me.
“I’m training always. It doesn’t matter if I have a fight or not. I’m always training like I’m preparing for the fight. To be honest, I don’t know what’s different between having [training] camp or not having camp. I’m always ready. If they give me a fight next week, I am ready.”
