Petr Yan claims ‘no one is interested in’ Merab Dvalishvili ahead of UFC Las Vegas main event
Petr Yan doesn’t think many fans care to watch Merab Dvalishvili.
Yan is set to headline UFC Las Vegas on Saturday against Dvalishvili in a pivotal bantamweight scrap for both men as the winner will be in the title picture. Yet, although Yan is on a two-fight losing skid and is a sizeable betting favorite, the Russian says this fight is more about him as no one cares about Dvalishvili.
“I think he doesn’t have any other way to bring attention to himself,” Yan said at media day. “He cannot do it with his fights. In his fights, all he does is, like a dog, take the leg and push his opponents up to the cage. So he’s just trying to get a little attention or something. No one is interested in him.
“… I was leaving the hotel to training at the PI, and he came up to me and he was asking for a cross interview with ‘The Schmo’ to promote the fight, but like I mentioned, no one is interested in Merab. And I’m not interested in promoting him either. He tries to push himself too hard. He tries to force himself on being a fan favorite, but it never works out that way. The way he acts off-camera is different. The way he acts on-camera is a different way. When there’s no camera he’s not saying much.”
Although Petr Yan says no one is interested in Merab Dvalishvili, he knows winning this fight does a lot for his career. He believes it would get him back in the title picture as the Russian plans to make a statement here and even finish the fight as he learned his lesson in his past two fights.
“You always want to finish the fight earlier, you don’t want to leave it in the hands of the judges. So, my goal is to finish it,” Yan added.
