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Ilia Topuria was devastated after watching Merab Dvalishvili lose his second fight in a row.
The former bantamweight champion was beaten by Petr Yan in an enthralling UFC 333 co-main event.
Ilia Topuria, who counts Merab Dvalishvili as a good friend, streamed his live reaction to his Georgian compatriot falling to a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) defeat at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The bantamweight rivals completed their epic trilogy of fights at UFC 333
Ilia Topuria gathered around a TV to watch Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili 3 with a bunch of people.
The former two-weight UFC champion clapped and nodded after watching their pulsating five-round fight.
Topuria asked the fans watching his livestream who they thought was going to get the decision.
“Who watched the fight? 48-47, Yan? No,” he said.
“What are you saying? Who won? Merab won, yes.”
Topuria turned his back to the TV while Bruce Buffer read out the UFC 333 co-main event verdict.
The UFC superstar’s entourage let out a collective groan when Dvalishvili’s second loss in a row was confirmed.
“Merab, look, we’re proud of you anyways,” Topuria said to the camera.
Everyone in the room clapped when Dvalishvili gave a post-fight interview to Daniel Cormier.
Ilia Topuria’s reaction to Merab Dvalishvili’s loss to Petr Yan 💔 "48-47 Yan? Nooo. What are you saying?" https://t.co/wBXR7la8XH
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 24, 2026
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Merab Dvalishvili will have to fight his way back into title contention after losing at UFC 333.
Dana White has two other contenders in mind for Petr Yan’s next bantamweight title defense.
The UFC CEO says Song Yadong or Sean O’Malley will get a shot at 135lb gold in 2027.
“Yeah, well, me and the matchmakers were texting the entire night about Song Yadong and O’Malley,” White told reporters post-fight at UFC 333.
“Obviously, both are great options, and it’s a good problem to have to figure out which one of those two would be next.”