Sean O’Malley picks ‘gangster’ Petr Yan to finish Merab Dvalishvili at UFC Fight Night 221

Sean O’Malley envisions Petr Yan stopping Merab Dvalishvili late at UFC Fight Night 221.

Former bantamweight champion Yan (16-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) meets Dvalishvili (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in Saturday’s main event at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

O’Malley edged out Yan in a back-and-forth battle at UFC 280 to cement himself as No. 1 contender. O’Malley sees Yan as a more well-rounded fighter than Dvalishvili, but says what Dvalishvili is good at, he does very well.

“I don’t know if he’s going to be able to damage Merab as much if Merab is on him the whole time,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “I think we were surprised with Petr’s wrestling the first fight against (Aljamain Sterling) and then Aljo came out the second round and was able to take his back. The thing is Aljo thinks wrestle than jiu-jitsu, Merab thinks wrestle, wrestle, wrestle.

“I have you in a position, I’m going to hold you, I’m going to control you, wrestle, wrestle, wrestle. Will he be able to do that against Petr Yan? I don’t know. I think Petr overall is a better mixed marital artist. Merab, he’s very good, he’s great. I think Merab has less tools, but the tools that he does have can definitely get him this win. I’m very excited for this fight.”

Yan is 1-3 in his past four fights, with two of those losses coming to current bantamweight champion Sterling, and one to O’Malley. Based on the way Yan was able to perform in those setbacks, O’Malley finds it hard to pick against him.

“Official prediction: I’m taking Petr Yan in the fifth round,” O’Malley added. “I think it’s gonna be a war – well f*ck, maybe not. I keep saying stuff then I picture Merab grabbing him and Petr trying to get away. But overall, I’m taking Petr Yan, fifth-round TKO. Petr is one of my favorite guys to watch fight. I obviously had a very close fight with him myself and it was close.

“Five rounds is different, they call him (Dvalishvili) ‘The Machine,’ they say he doesn’t get tired. Petr Yan will test that, Petr Yan is a gangster and to beat Petr, you must be really freaking good.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.