Video | Petr Yan shoves Merab Dvalishvili in neck after ‘The Machine’ calls him a bitch

Petr Yan got physical with Merab Dvalishvili at the faceoff following weigh-ins.

After both Yan and Dvalishvili successfully made weight ahead of their main event, the two had a faceoff and Dvalishvili was heard calling Yan a bitch. After they got closer, Yan grabbed Dvalishvili’s throat and shoved him.

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1634272141112758279?s=46&t=GkFMd6USh_Y-ARZ5oVOjWQ

Just days before the fight, Yan and Dvalishvili went face-to-face with one another at the hotel as ‘The Machine’ wanted them to talk. The two have taken shots throughout the promotion of the fight, including Dvalishvili saying the fight is personal to him.

“I have many reasons,” Dvalishvili said at media day (h/t MMAJunkie). “First, this fight is not only a fight. It’s personal to me. He’s from Russia, I’m from Georgia. We all know Russia what they’re doing to Ukraine now, what they did to Georgia. Russia is not a (politically) democratic country. I know I want to win for my people. I have so much support from my country and so much support from Ukraine, too.

“Petr is a great fighter. He is a former champion. We all know he’s tough. As a fighter, he’s a great fighter. He’s dangerous,” Dvalishvili continued about Yan. “He doesn’t have holes anywhere. He’s a good striker. He is a good striker. He defends wrestling good. His cardio is good. This is my toughest fight. And I have other reasons. I think he’s a great fighter, a good family guy, but he’s not a humble guy. He’s not a great human. It doesn’t matter how good of a fighter you are, you have to be a good person.”

Petr Yan (16-4) is coming off back-to-back split decision losses to Sean O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling. Prior to that, he beat Cory Sandhagen by decision to win the interim title after losing his bantamweight title by DQ to Sterling. In his career, he also holds notable wins over Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, and John Dodson among others.

Merab Dvalishvili (15-4) is on an eight-fight winning streak and coming off a decision win over Aldo. Also on the win streak, he also holds notable wins over Marlon Moraes, Cody Stamann, Dodson, and Casey Kenney among others.

What do you make of Petr Yan shoving Merab Dvalishvili?