The talented UFC Bantamweight division is once again back in the headlines as former champ Petr Yan gets ready to take on Merab Dvalishvili in this weekend’s edition of UFC fight night. Following his controversial loss to Sean O’Malley, ‘No Mercy’ will head into the fight aiming to finish the Georgian, who incidentally happens to be the current champ Aljamain Sterling‘s close friend as well.

Both fighters are ranked number two and three, respectively; it’s only reasonable to assume that a win here could open up the door to a likely chance at UFC gold. Now, as we inch closer to this fight, a clip of the duo and Sterling resurfaced online, showing the unique bond that the bantamweights appeared to share.

Petr Yan meets fellow bantamweights Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili backstage 

In an unconfirmed backstage interaction, the 30-year-old Yan was seen fooling around with Dvalishvili as the current champ stood and watched along. Despite it being a friendly interaction, MMA fans seemed to feel that both fighters were sizing each other up. And although their intentions can be speculated, the Russian did appear to make remarks on the size of his opponent.

MMA fans love this sort of interaction between rival fighters. They also thronged into the comment section on what they felt was just a trailer for the upcoming fight. Let’s take a look at some of the interesting comments.

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A couple of fans of the Russian pointed out how he seemed happy only when fighting.

“Petr is happy when he only fights someone”

“Never seen a vid of Petr and another fighter meeting in peace. Petr always tryna grapple”

Looking at the comment section, it was quite obvious that Yan was the heavy fan favorite.

“Yan owned him already”

“Cant wait to watch him bully Merab in that octagon”

“Yan is gonna read this man like a book and annihilate him from this plane of existence”

“Yan is serious and merab like hiding his nervousness by laughing lol”

“Merb yielded quick to yan, sterling was thinkin about them Grammys and wasn’t paying attention to anything that just happened”

Despite the obvious love for the former champ; there were also comments on how the fight could be a tough challenge for him.

“this fight is gonna be frustrating af to watch if ur a yan fan”

Regardless of the comments claiming that Yan might walk through Dvalishvili, MMA fans understand that the fight will be a much closer affair than that.

Yan and Dvalishvili to face each other this weekend 

Although fans might have been frustrated with Yan‘s previous loss to O’Malley, the fight against Dvalishvili and a potential win here could help him make a turnaround and position himself as a contender next.

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And the same can be said for Dvalishvili too. The 32-year-old Georgian understands the significance of this bout and the due challenges that come with facing ‘No Mercy’. Considering the fact that his friend and training partner Sterling already has the experience of fighting Yan twice; it’s natural for ‘The Machine’ to have a solid plan in place as he steps inside the cage.

How do you think this fight goes down? Let us know in the comment section below.

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