Petr Yan says private political talk with Merab Dvalishvili may surface

Petr Yan says he discussed politics with Merab Dvalishvili shortly after their five-round title fight. Yan retained his Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight championship in their trilogy bout at UFC 333 on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The champion said they exchanged words of respect after their Fight of the Night-winning encounter before briefly discussing political issues.Petr Yan discusses his postfight exchange with Merab Dvalishvili after their UFC 333 trilogy bout Dvalishvili took an early lead before Yan rallied over the final three rounds to win a unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 48-47 for the champion. Before the fight, Yan said their contrasting personalities would prevent them from becoming friends. Nevertheless, the two shook hands afterward. Yan declined to elaborate on their political discussion, though he expects microphones near the Octagon captured the exchange and that the audio will eventually become public. “Shook hands, said thank you to each other, congratulated each other on the great fight,” Yan said at the postfight news conference. “And then kind of discussed a few political issues that are gonna stay there. But I’m sure you’ll hear it; there were microphones everywhere. At some point, it will come out. But I would rather leave it between us for now, until it gets published.”