UFC Russia censors Dvalishvili’s victory speech that called for peace

Merab Dvalishvili defeated Petr Yan in a dominant performance at the UFC Las Vegas, with all three judges scoring the event 50-45 for Dvalishvili.

Dvalishvili attempted a record-breaking 49 takedowns, securing 11 of them, cementing his reputation as one of the best wrestlers in the UFC. He also tied former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson with a total of 74 takedowns landed in the UFC and is just 10 more takedowns away from equaling the record held by Georges St-Pierre.

Yan wouldn’t shake hands with Dvalishvili beforehand but the two did shake hands afterwards and exchange a few words. According to Dvalishvili he told Yan he hopes the two can be friends some day despite the heated exchanges beforehand.

Petr Yan posted an interesting explanation for his performance after:

” It’s annoying, it hurts to realize what is happening, but what happened cannot be rewound! In general, I was satisfied with the preparation. There were several slowing down factors – which I thought about and believed that I could handle! I flew to the States, we left the flight for a couple of days and started working. I felt I needed physical therapy! I worked out every day for a week and believed that everything would be fine.”

“A week before the bout, they gave a 5 * 5 roast, breathed well and began to cut weight. I couldn’t think about the cancellation of the Battle, since I was already on the field! I think it was water that I could not move or hit! I had to hang on! I know what I can do and I can do better! You need to reboot – make adjustments! 🙏🏻 The photo was from training in Tiger 7 days before departure; that day I thought I could bend down and not knock down anything in the sky 😊 Thank you all for your attention – understanding 🙏🏻🤝 There will be holidays”

Some fans are questioning if Yan’s on the decline considering he strung together a number of losses following that unfortunate DQ loss against Aljamain Sterling. But despite that, it’s hard to picture UFC not wanting to be in Yan business.

Merab took the opportunity to wish for peace in Ukraine during his octagon speech. This was suspiciously omitted from the UFC Russia youtube channel.

Dvalishvili’s octagon interview has been viewed half a million times since yesterday.