“But now it’s all good. I shake his hand and wish him the best in his life.” Merab Dvalishvili stated at the UFC 323 media day, addressing his beef with Petr Yan. Both bantamweight superstars carried plenty of animosity going into their first fight at the 2023 Fight Night event, where The Machine’s rivalry with the former Russian champ felt deeply personal. However, ahead of their rematch on December 6th, the exchanges have stayed surprisingly mild and respectful. Until now.

At the UFC 323 pre-fight presser, things got highly heated between Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan. Both fighters jumped into fiery back-and-forths, bringing up everything from their past rivalry to lingering frustrations. But the moment took a humorous turn when the reigning bantamweight champion invited the Russian into his infamous “jacuzzi,” which sparked an immediate reply from Yan that left Dvalishvili speechless. 

Petr Yan savagely fires back at Merab Dvalishvili during the UFC 323 pre-fight presser 

“You are welcome in my Jacuzzi,” Merab said at the UFC 323 pre-fight presser, trying to poke at Petr Yan’s nerves. However, the Russian chose pure verbal violence as he fired back without hesitation.

“You have plenty of people in your Jacuzzi; I don’t have to be there. I feel like you should have girls in your Jacuzzi instead of who you have. If you like to be in the Jacuzzi with the boys, it’s up to you.”

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Dvalishvili still tried to clap back, saying, “What’s the problem with girls or boys? It doesn’t matter, we can mix!” But then, the former 135 lbs champ decided to shut things down with a sharp one-liner that closed the show.

“All I saw is all you got is boys in yours. Honestly, I haven’t even seen you with a girl before at all.” Yan added at the UFC 323 presser.

For the unversed, Merab Dvalishvili actually sparked the whole jacuzzi meme. It started with a viral picture of Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team hanging out in a jacuzzi, which the Georgian star mocked while taking a playful dig at his former opponent, Umar Nurmagomedov, for being in one as well. 

Dvalishvili later recreated the image with a group of bantamweight contenders, posing in the same setup with him chilling right in the middle. After that, the champ even invited Sean O’Malley into his jacuzzi ahead of their UFC 316 rematch, even adding that Umar isn’t welcome at his place. That’s exactly why Petr Yan fired back by saying there are only boys in the champion’s jacuzzi. However, the exchanges between them didn’t stop there.

During the press conference, the Georgian completely lashed out at his opponent for making “excuses” as they headed into their rematch. 

‘The Machine’ calls out Petr Yan for making excuses

At UFC Fight Night 221, Merab Dvalishvili defeated Petr Yan with a record-breaking performance, shooting 49 takedowns and landing 11 of them while piling up 147 significant strikes in the process. After five grueling rounds, ‘The Machine’ secured the unanimous decision victory to seal the deal. However, Merab’s win over Yan came with a bit of skepticism, as the Russian claimed he fought with a broken hand that night.

Now, with that result becoming the biggest point of intrigue for their rematch, Petr Yan believes this time will be different since he isn’t fighting injured. The former champ said at the pre-fight presser, “In my first fight, I fought with him with one arm. He tried 49 takedowns.”

After hearing this, the reigning bantamweight champion snapped back with fire.

“Petr, you are better than this. Stop making excuses! Please, no excuses. I will beat you on Dec. 6, what excuse are you going to make? Tell me now!” Merab shouted at his opponent. 

Well, that’s how the Georgian and the Russian showed shades of their past rivalry and made things personal all over again. Now, on December 6th, we’ll finally find out whether Merab Dvalishvili proves his greatness by beating Petr Yan twice and shedding the doubts that his last win came under favorable circumstances, or if the former champ gets his revenge.

That said, what do you think will happen in the main event of UFC 323? Let us know in the comments section below.