Henry Cejudo thinks Merab Dvalishvili will give Petr Yan fits.
Dvalishvili (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) faces Yan (16-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 221 headliner March 11 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.
Olympic gold medalist wrestler Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is confident he’d give both bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and Dvalishvili problems on the ground, but doesn’t think the rest of the division can handle Dvalishvili’s wrestling – including Yan.
“His wrestling doesn’t scare me. His striking doesn’t scare me. But for the rest of the division, he’s a nightmare,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel.
“I love this fight for Merab. So for that reason, I just don’t know if Petr Yan has made those adjustments as he continues to keep going to Thailand, continues to try to get better. He can only get so much better with the hands. How good has your grappling skills got? Because if this is going to be a main event for a five-round fight, I just see Merab just pretty much – he’s going to beat on you like a rat on a Cheeto. So I’m going Merab.”
Cejudo currently is linked to a title fight with champ Sterling, but no date or location have been set yet. “Triple C” will return from a layoff approaching three years to try to recapture the bantamweight title he vacated when he retired in May 2020.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.
