When Merab Dvalishvili walked out of UFC 323 without the bantamweight title, the immediate takeaway centered on Petr Yan’s resurgence. But as the dust settled, another layer emerged, one that had less to do with punches and takedowns and more to do with what was said between rounds.

Former champion Sean O’Malley noticed it almost instantly. Having fought both men, he understood the stakes, the rhythms, and the danger of false comfort in a five-round fight. As replays circulated and corner audio came into focus, ‘Suga’ zeroed in on a moment that may have quietly tilted the fight: ‘The Machine’s coach, John Wood, telling him he was up three rounds.

Speaking on a clip shared by Home of Fight on X, O’Malley broke it down bluntly. “And, depends who you ask, you asked John Wood, he’s up three. Did you hear that? He told Merab you’re up three rounds,” he said.

The disbelief was audible. Not because Wood is inexperienced, but because the fight state didn’t seem to support that confidence.

The bantamweight star then made it personal, comparing it to his own corner experiences. “Tim (Welch) one time told me my opponent was faster than me, and that was somehow still better advice than saying you’re up three rounds.”

He laughed, but the point landed hard as he continued, “Tim’s like, he’s faster than you. I’m like, for sure.” To Sean O’Malley, honesty, even uncomfortable honesty, is oxygen in the championship rounds. False reassurance, on the other hand, can be deadly, and context matters here.

UFC 323 wasn’t just another defense for Merab Dvalishvili. It was a shot at history to secure him four title defenses in one calendar year. Instead, Petr Yan flipped the script.

The fight was razor-close early, but momentum shifted quietly. Yan’s jab landed. His takedown defense, 22 of 24 attempts stuffed, held firm. More importantly, his body work began to tell. O’Malley had exposed that vulnerability back in Round 5 of his first fight with Merab Dvalishvili, and Yan attacked it relentlessly. Liver shots in rounds three, four, and five slowed ‘The Machine’ just enough.

By the championship rounds, Yan looked fresher. He grew stronger. Dvalishvili kept pushing, but the relentless pace that usually drowns opponents wasn’t enough without control or visible damage. Judges saw it clearly: 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 for Yan. That’s where Sean O’Malley’s critique lands hardest.

He said, “It’s interesting being in the corner, like you see, you might see the fight differently. Maybe you’re saying it because you, you know your fighter better.”

Yan didn’t just outfight the Georgian. He outlasted him. He solved the puzzle that had stumped the division for years. And if Merab Dvalishvili truly believed he was cruising on the scorecards, that belief may have robbed him of the urgency needed to swing the final rounds. Now, his longtime coach, John Wood, has finally addressed what went wrong and why he isn’t blowing up the blueprint just yet.

Merab Dvalishvili’s coach breaks his silence over “lessons” after loss to Petr Yan at UFC 323

John Wood didn’t dodge the weight of the moment. UFC 323 marked Dvalishvili’s fourth fight of the year, a brutal pace even for a champion known as ‘The Machine.’ He came up short in a unanimous decision, bloodied and frustrated, after failing on most of his takedown attempts and absorbing sustained damage on the feet.

Speaking to Submission Radio, Wood made it clear this wasn’t a moment for overcorrection. Yes, lessons were learned, but not at the expense of Dvalishvili’s identity.

According to him, “No, no, I think that we’ve learned some lessons on this one for sure, I think that there’s a lot to be learned from this. If you dare to be great, sometimes you’re going to come up short. That’s what that man has done. I do believe he is great, and I do believe he’ll continue to be great, and I do believe that he will get that title back. Sometimes you take risks, and if you were to ask him if he would do it again, I believe he would. “

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Wood didn’t shy away from describing his fighter’s mentality either. “He is the path of most resistance guy. He’s the guy that would go through a wall,” he said. That mindset explains why training habits, pressure-heavy game plans, and fight-day intensity remain non-negotiable, even when they come with consequences.

Instead of isolating one tactical error or corner call, Wood pointed to exhaustion, not confusion, as a key factor.

“It’s been a long year, and there were a lot of things that went into this. It was Petr’s night, and it was a little off night for us,” he said flatly. No excuses. No deflections.

As such, Wood’s response makes one thing clear: the blueprint isn’t broken. The risks remain part of the identity. Whether those risks need refinement rather than reassurance, as pointed out by ‘Suga’, may define Merab Dvalishvili’s next run. And if this chapter proved anything, it’s that at the elite level, even confidence, when misplaced, can cost you everything.