Everyone has been talking about how intense the fight between Merab and Yan was at UFC 323, but how did Petr Yan finally weather the storm that the likes of elite fighters for instance, Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen couldn’t. Petr Yan himself lost to Merab Dvalishvili back on their first meetup which took place in 2023. So what did he do differently? what were the technicalities and small-angle changes that lead the fight to play out the way it did?
Below is a detailed technical round-by-round breakdown of what actually happened in real-time, so let’s dive straight into it!
TL;DR
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Yan used a quick jab and small angle steps to stop Merab’s forward pressure and keep himself off the fence.
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He shut down the chain wrestling with strong underhooks, hip pivots, and smart sprawls that broke Merab’s rhythm.
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Yan targeted the body all night with hooks and well-timed body kicks, slowing Merab’s pace and taking away his explosiveness.
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In the clinch, Yan controlled head position, punished level changes with elbows and knees, and widened his stance to stop takedowns.
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Yan sealed the fight with clean striking, a late takedown, and overall smarter decision-making, fully solving Merab’s pressure game.
Round 1: Yan Learns to Breathe Inside the Pressure
The first round was all about Yan learning how to create space against Merab’s nonstop forward march. Instead of trying to blast Merab back with power punches, Yan used a light, quick jab simply to make Merab pause for a split second each time he stepped in. That tiny hesitation gave Yan enough room to slide to the side at a 45-degree angle rather than backing straight up. This little turn-out step kept him free from the fence, which is where Merab does his best work.
Every time Merab dipped his head to threaten a level change, Yan slipped in a tight left hook to the body. He found these body shots because Merab naturally brought his hands high when he entered, leaving the ribs open at the exact moment Yan needed. These small, simple adjustments allowed Yan to start the fight comfortably and gave him the edge in the first round.
Round 2: Wrestling Pressure Meets Calm Solutions
The second round showed how seriously Yan prepared for Merab’s chain wrestling. Each time Merab shot in, Yan immediately fought for an underhook and lifted it high enough to keep Merab from joining his hands around the hips. Instead of sprawling straight back, Yan sprawled and then rotated his hips to the side, forcing Merab into a poor angle where his takedown setups fell apart. Yan even answered one of these wrestling exchanges with a takedown of his own, which surprised Merab and bought Yan a mental advantage. On the feet, Yan’s jab continued to be the key that unlocked space, and once Merab blinked or covered up to deal with it, Yan dipped and ripped the left hook to the body again. The jab essentially acted as a door opener, and the body shot was the punishment waiting behind it.
Round 3: Body Kicks Begin to Change the Pace
By the third round, Yan could feel Merab slowing ever so slightly from the constant body damage. That is when he started mixing in right sided body kicks. These were not thrown randomly. Yan first flicked a jab to make Merab freeze in place, then stepped just outside Merab’s lead foot to open a clear lane for the kick. Because Merab was always moving forward, he actually walked into the body kicks, which made them land harder than they would have in open space. Merab still found a burst of energy and even lifted Yan for a dramatic slam, but Yan sprang back to his feet almost instantly by posting on his hand, spreading his base, and turning toward Merab’s weakest side. The impact of the slam was not nearly as damaging as it looked, and Yan’s fast escape showed how prepared he was for every scramble.
Round 4: Winning the Dirty Work in the Clinch
The fourth round became a battle of grit in tight spaces, and Yan’s small technical choices were the difference. Whenever they clinched against the cage, Yan kept his head positioned inside Merab’s collarbone area, which prevented Merab from dropping levels comfortably for a double leg. Each time Merab bent forward to try, Yan punished him with short elbows, tight uppercuts, and knees to the body. These simple but painful shots forced Merab to hesitate on the timing of his wrestling. Yan also widened his stance every time Merab clasped his hands, which removed the leverage Merab needed to complete a takedown. These tiny adjustments let Yan win exchanges that usually belong to Merab and gave him control of the round without needing anything out of the box.
Round 5: A Mature and Controlled Closing Round
The final round showed Yan’s discipline more than anything. Seeing that Merab’s pressure was no longer quite as explosive, Yan went back to the body kicks that had been working so well earlier. Merab no longer had the same bounce to fully avoid them, and each kick helped slow him even more. When the round reached its final minute, Yan made the smartest decision of the fight. He shot for a takedown of his own. This forced Merab onto defense instead of offense and allowed Yan to ride out the end of the round while landing short knees to the body from top control. The takedown was not about dominance. It was about shutting the door on any comeback attempt and showing full command of the moment.
Why Yan Finally Solved the Puzzle
Across all five rounds, Yan did not beat Merab by overpowering him. He beat him by controlling the small moments. He created space with jabs, angled out instead of backing up, ripped the body whenever Merab changed levels, used perfect underhooks, won the clinch battles with sharp inside strikes, and brought out body kicks at the right time. It was a fight built not on chaos but on clarity. Every move had a purpose, and every adjustment chipped away at Merab’s greatest strength, which is his constant pressure. In the end, Yan solved the Dvalishvili puzzle by outthinking the storm rather than trying to outmuscle it.
