Merab
Dvalishvili has changed his training in preparation for a
potential rubber match against Petr Yan.

Dvalishvili (21-5) was looking to defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title for the
fourth time in a year against the Russian fighter this past
December. However, Yan completely neutralized Dvalishvili's
wrestling and pieced him up in the stand-up to earn a unanimous
decision win, taking their rivalry to 1-1.

“The Machine†is leaving no stone unturned ahead of their potential
trilogy bout.

Merab Dvalishvili adds new wrestling coach while preparing for
Petr Yan trilogy bout

Dvalishvili has hired a new wrestling coach for private sessions.
The Georgian says that while he worked hard ahead of his failed
title defense against Yan, he is working smarter now.

“This is my second training session and I have a private wrestling
session with coach Jesse,†Dvalishvili said on a recent vlog shared
on YouTube. “He's my new coach; he's been helping me with private
training. And this Q MMA is a new gym in [Las] Vegas. Today's
training was very good because we worked some positions. This is
pretty much how I'm gonna work against Petr. And this feels like a
real training camp for me… The last time I fought Petr, I was
working hard. This time, I’m working smart. That’s what I need, and
I think I'm going to make a big difference. I’m going to take my
belt back.â€

Dvalishvili and Yan's two fights so far have been a stark contrast
from one another. In their first meeting in 2023, when they
headlined a Fight Night event, Dvalishvili set the record for most
takedown attempts in a five-round fight and repeatedly took Yan
down en route to a comfortable decision win.

Yan then worked his way into title contention to earn a rematch
last year, showcasing significant improvements in his defensive
wrestling. “No Mercy†thwarted most of the former champion's
offense to cruise to a decision win of his own.

Charles
Oliveira believes Ian Garry can
dethrone Islam
Makhachev.

Garry (17-1) is scheduled to challenge Makhachev (28-1) for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title at UFC
330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Center in Philadelphia.
Oliveira claims the challenger's fighting style will fare well
against the reigning pound-for-pound king.

Charles Oliveira breaks down why Ian Machado Garry could
threaten Islam Makhachev at UFC 330

Garry regularly trains with Oliveira at
Chute Boxe in Brazil and “do Bronxs†believes the Irish
170-pounder has a good chance of beating Makhachev.

Oliveira, who shared the Octagon with Makhachev in 2022, credits
Garry being a “strategic fighter†as the former
Cage Warriors champ's greatest asset.

“Ian has a very good chance of beating Makhachev,†Oliveira said in
an interview with MMA Fighting. “I'm not saying that because he's
my friend or because he's part of our team, but because of what we
have seen and how he's been training. We know there's an incredibly
tough guy on the other side, someone who deserves all the respect
in the world… But honestly, in my opinion, Ian has a great chance
of winning because he's such a strategic fighter and never abandons
the game plan.â€

Charles
Oliveira says Ian Machado
Garry has a “very good chance” of dethroning Islam
Makhachev at #UFC330

(Via @guicruzzz)
pic.twitter.com/RpmUll5Zzh

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting)
August 3, 2026

Paul
Hughes believes fighters are cheating the
Professional Fighters League's current drug testing
program.

Hughes recently called for increased drug testing in the merger
between PFL and Jake Paul's

Most Valuable Promotions.

Paul Hughes on PFL drug-testing: ‘Not good enough'

PFL lightweight Alexandr
Shabliy was recently suspended for six months after testing
positive for recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO) in an
out-of-competition sample. Hughes believes Shabliy should have been
banned for life instead. Hughes also wanted the same for former PFL
champ Movlid
Khaybulaev, who was banned for a year and stripped of his title
after testing positive for rEPO last year. The Irishman claims he
has only been drug tested a day before his fights, which is
inadequate.

“I have seen Shabliy calling for the next title shot,†Hughes said
on social media. “He got popped for EPO… The guy should be f*cking
banned for life. And speaking of that, PFL-MVP merger here, I'd
need to see increased drug testing. There's him getting done for
EPO and a six-month suspension. What the f*ck even is that ban?
There's Khaybulaev, former PFL featherweight champion out of team
Khabib, popped for EPO as well. Should be banned for life… All the
drug testing that I have gotten has been just a day before the
fights. That's not good enough; people are cheating that.â€

An elite
middleweight clash headlines PFL Charlotte: Tune in on Friday, Aug.
7 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The PFL's drug-testing partner is USADA, the former drug-testing
partner of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship. As the merged promotion will
operate under the MVP banner, it remains to be seen if they will
continue with USADA.

Hughes (14-3) has made two unsuccessful title bids against Usman
Nurmagomedov in his last three outings. He claims he was unable
to train for six weeks due to back-to-back surgeries ahead of his
rematch against Nurmagomedov last October.

Addressing some things.

Nurmagomedov could be No1 in the world right now, congrats to him.
But that story is not finished.

I would like to see more drug testing in the new era of MVP/PFL.
Drug cheats should be banned for life.

Alfie
Davis, I will finish your career if you… pic.twitter.com/qA7iglqYcC

— Paul
Hughes MMA (@paulhughesmma)
August 3, 2026