An undated picture of UFC fighter Merab Dvalishvili. — AFP
Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has shared his comeback timeline and said that the promotion wants him to rest before a rematch with Petr Yan.
Dvalishvili was on his way to becoming the first UFC champion to defend his title four times in a calendar year. However, Yan ruined his plans when he brought an A game in their rematch and reclaimed the title after four years.
Georgian was speaking to MMA Pros Pick and claimed that he would get a chance to win his gold again.
Dvalishvili added that UFC has told him to rest as long as he wants and then contact them for the trilogy.
“The UFC contacted me and said, ‘Please rest as long as you want. Your next fight is a rematch with Petr Yan for the belt. Rest as long as you want and call us when you are ready,” Dvalishvili said.
He added that he wasn’t hurt much in the fight. ‘The Machine’ also shared a timeline for his return and when the bout with Yan could be possible.
“They probably want to do the fight in the summer, but I don’t want to wait till the summer. I’ll repeat once again, I didn’t get any serious injuries from this fight. Anyways, I want to schedule the fight early, maybe in the spring, in April would be good or maybe the fight can be scheduled in the summer,” he added.
The head-to-head between Dvalishvili and Yan is 1-1, and the trilogy would decide the dominant one.
The Georgian won the title from Sean O’Malley at UFC 306. However, Yan was good enough at UFC 323 to come out as champion.