As I am sure you know, this is a rematch from a fight night main event 2.5 years ago. It wasn't a particularly close fight. Merab had 11 takedowns, 7 minutes of control and landed 2.5x the total number of strikes. If you are picking Petr Yan than you feel that somehow, between then and now, Petr's takedown defense has gotten exponetially better and Merab has either not improved at all or gotten worse. I don't think any of that is true. Petr is very good, but there's no way he has closed the gap. Merab is the pick and he will do here what he has done in all his fights, spam takedowns, showcase cardio and dominate.

Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Dvalishvili is a non stop chain wrestler with improved striking and insane cardio. He times his takedowns incredibly well and even if he doesn't it doesn't matter because there's another shot right behind it. He averages an insane almost 7 takedowns per 15 minutes and his last loss was all the back in 2018. His gas tank is insane and his willingness to stick to a gameplan makes sure there are no surprises come fight night. He is coming off the dominant win over Corey Sandhaggen where he was a ridiculous 20 takedowns.

Petr Yan

Petr Yan is the former Bantamweight Champion of the World and is getting a second crack at those honors. He is a a phenomenal striker with fantastic takedown defense and surprisingly solid takedown offense as well. He plots forward with a Muay Thai style guard and then blasts away with power and accuracy. He averages almost 2 takedowns per fight with a solid 85% takedown defense. He is coming off the decision win over Deiveson Figueiredo where he more than doubled his strikes. He is coming off the straight forward win over Marcus McGhee where he was very technical and the much cleaner striker.