Merab Dvalishvili aims to extend winning streak against Petr Yan in UFC 323

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Merab Dvalishvili said fighters can win and be respectful at the same time, and even if his opponent Saturday night, Petr Yan, takes an occasional verbal jab, he's not going to sweat it.

Besides, Dvalishvili will have plenty other things to sweat about, such as making weight, which he sounded confident he would do when he puts his bantamweight belt on the line in UFC 323.

“I never like to make it drama,” Dvalishvili said. “It’s a fight. We are professional fighters. The people will watch anyway.

“I don’t like to talk trash for no reason. I don’t like somebody to disrespect me for no reason.”

This is the last UFC pay-per-view fight because it agreed to a seven-year contract with Paramount Plus under which future bouts will be on the streaming service.

Dvalishvili, who lives on New York's Long Island and has dual American and Georgian citizenship, is a substantial -425 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook.

The 34-year-old enters on a 14-match winning streak and is 21-4. A victory over the 32-year-old Yan (19-5) would move Dvalishvili into a tie with Kamaru Usman for the third-longest streak in UFC history. The record holders are Anderson Silva and Islam Makhachev with 16 each.

Dvalishvili seems to be racing toward that record. This will be his fourth title match this year,.

“That was my goal to be busy this year,” Dvalishvili said. “Thank you to UFC for making this happen.”

His last defeat occurred on April 21, 2018 when Ricky Simon won by submission.

Then Dvalishvili began his winning streak, and along the way defeated Yan by unanimous decision in a nontitle fight on March 11, 2023. That bout was known as much for the nasty build-up — the Russian shoved Dvalishvili at the weigh-in — as the fight itself.

“That time, it was personal for me,” Dvalishvili said. “Now, it’s more competition. We fought once and I beat him. Every time he was fighting, I was cheering for him. Look at Instagram. He’s a great father. He’s a good fighter. The only problem I have with him is he was bullying. He was talking trash about me, about (Aljamain Sterling), about our team. He doesn’t give us respect.

“No matter what happens, I will shake his hand and wish him the best.”

Yan was mostly respectful this week, referring to Dvalishvili as “a great warrior” and “a deserving champion.” As the third-ranked challenger, Yan said he thought should have been No. 1 in line for the championship, a point will make clearly if he pulls off the upset victory.

But Yan wasn't quite over what he thought would be a working relationship with Dvalishvili as coaches for a reality show in Thailand. Yan said Dvalishvili gave every indication he would be there, but decided not to make the trip.

“At the very end, he got scared and didn’t come out and sent Sterling instead of him,” Yan said through an interpreter. “So I was there for a month big-brothering Sterling.”

Dvalishvili said he was advised not to go, but other than that, didn't offer a lot of details about the supposed snub.

Now they get to put on another kind of reality show when both step into the octagon.

“Just think about this,” Yan said. “I flew across the entire planet. I come back to rematch Sterling or Merab in their hometown. Everything’s against me. Just think about how much pressure that is. Just think about hard that it is. Obviously, it’s much harder for me than it is them.”

In the co-main event, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (30-5) of Brazil takes on No. 1 challenger Joshua Van (15-2) of Myanmar.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

UFC bantamweight fighter Petr Yan, of Russia, poses during a news conference promoting UFC 323, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, of Georgia, poses with his title belt during a news conference promoting UFC 323, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, left, of Georgia, faces off with challenger Petr Yan, of Russia, as UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard looks on during a news conference promoting UFC 323, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

FILE - Petr Yan celebrates after defeating Urijah Faber in a mixed martial arts bantamweight bout at UFC 245, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

FILE - Georgia's Merab Dvalishvili during the second round of a bantamweight title bout against Sean O'Malley at the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand Police said Friday they have recovered a James Bond-inspired Fabergé pendant after six days of closely watching the man accused of swallowing the jewelry in an Auckland store.

They said the pendant was recovered Thursday night after it exited the suspect's gastrointestinal tract naturally without medical intervention.

The limited-edition, Fabergé egg pendant was inspired by the 1983 James Bond film “Octopussy," in which a jewel-smuggling operation involves a fake Fabergé egg.

A less glamorous photo supplied by New Zealand’s police Friday showed a gloved hand holding the recovered pendant and its long, gold chain with an intact price tag showing the jewelry's 33,000 New Zealand dollar ($19,000) value.

The man was arrested inside Partridge Jewelers in Auckland on Nov. 28 shortly after the alleged theft.

He made a court appearance Nov. 29, when he didn’t enter a plea to a charge of theft. Since then, he's been in police custody and officers had been stationed round the clock with the man to wait for the evidence to reemerge.

The 32-year-old man has not been publicly named. He is due to appear in Auckland District Court on Monday and will remain in police custody until then.

“Given this man is in Police custody, we have a duty of care to continue monitoring him given the circumstances of what has occurred,” Inspector Grae Anderson said in a statement Wednesday.

The store’s website says the egg, one of only 50 made, was crafted from gold, painted with green enamel and encrusted with 183 diamonds and two sapphires. The pendant is 8.4 centimeters (3.3 inches) tall and is mounted on a stand.

“The egg opens to reveal an 18ct yellow gold octopus nestled inside, adorned with white diamond suckers and black diamond eyes,” an item description said. “The octopus surprise pays homage to the eponymous antagonist at the center of the ‘Octopussy’ film.”

In this photo provided by the New Zealand Police a Fabergé pendant is held after it was recovered, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, from a man accused of stealing and swallowing the pendant. (New Zealand Police via AP)