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A top MMA coach believes Merab Dvalishvili will be a far different version of himself entering UFC 333.

Dvalishvili lost the UFC bantamweight title in his rematch against Petr Yan back in Dec. 2025. While “The Machine” defeated Yan in their first encounter back in 2023, “No Mercy” got a measure of revenge by taking Dvalishvili’s gold at UFC 323.

Dvalishvili and Yan are set to collide in a trilogy fight in the UFC 333 co-headliner, which is scheduled to take place on Oct. 24. Home of Fight’s Jake Noecker got a chance to speak with Dvalishvili’s coach John Wood who thinks his fighter has ascended to a higher level.

“It’s just a different Merab,” Wood said. “What I saw in sparring yesterday, and I don’t know that he’s ever been in better cardio shape, to be honest. He’s just so motivated to go back and avenge that last loss, get his title back and put everything back the way it should be.”

Dvalishvili was riding a 14-fight winning streak and he had three successful title defenses in a single year. Yan stopped him from making history to notch his second UFC title reign. After their rematch, both men were healing from injuries, which is why their trilogy wasn’t booked sooner.

Yan enters UFC 333 with a four-fight winning streak, having secured victories over Dvalishvili, Marcus McGhee, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Song Yadong. Before his winning streak was snapped, Dvalishvili had two victories over Sean O’Malley, and wins over the likes of Jose Aldo, Henry Cejudo, Yan, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Cory Sandhagen to name a few.

The odds are close for Dvalishvili vs. Yan 3 with “No Mercy” being a slight favorite as of now. Whether or not the line will move as we get closer to fight night remains to be seen.

Are you expecting a better version of Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333 than what we saw in the rematch against Petr Yan? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM