Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili Fight Night UFC Odds

The UFC returns on March 11th for UFC Vegas 71 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Paradise, Nevada near Las Vegas where a massive fight in the promotion’s bantamweight division sees No. 2 contender and former division champion Petr Yan dance with No. 3 contender Merab Dvalishvili. Betting sites have decided that Yan is coming in with a huge advantage, as evidenced by his very short moneyline odds for this scrap.

Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili UFC Odds

Dvalishvili brings a sparkling eight fight winning streak into this fight, but apparently that is not nearly enough to sway oddsmakers. The pedigree of Yan’s recent fights would seem to be a deciding factor for UFC betting sites like Betway, who provide the odds below. 

Petr Yan UFC Odds

Yan has had a pretty rough go of it in the octagon of late, not because he’s been getting beaten up, but because the judges have been deciding against him. He’s lost two very close fights by split decision his last two times making the octagon walk. One to current champion Aljamain Sterling in a title fight, and the most recent to up-and-coming contender Sean O’Malley.

It’s nearly enough to make you forget how good Yan was against Cory Sandhagen in Yan’s last win in 2021, where he got the victory by decision. Yan has heavy hands and is one of the most powerful fighters at 135 pounds as evidenced by his seven wins by knockout and his UFC record 10 knockdowns in the division.

While the 5’7” Yan comes in with a one inch height advantage, his opponent has the same advantage in reach, with Yan at 67 inches and Dvalishvili at 68, so there’s not much in it either way on this fight’s tale of the tape. Both of these fighters rely on deft striking abilities to do most of their damage in the octagon as well.

Merab Dvalishvili UFC Odds

After losing his first two fights in the UFC, Dvalishvili has been on an absolute tear, winning his last eight straight fights, seven of which have come by unanimous decision. While the Georgian brawler is a solid striker, the advantage in that department probably goes to the former interim champion Yan.

In standup exchanges, we would expect Yan to get the better of it, though Dvalishvili is no slouch on the feet either. Where Dvalishvili can find an advantage is by continuing to mix takedowns into his attack, as he did so successfully against the legendary Jose Aldo in his last fight, another win by unanimous decision.

However, Yan is aware of the fact that most of his opponents are looking to take his deadly striking out of the equation, and he has responded by working hard on his takedown defense, which is at a very impressive 90 percent clip in the octagon. Unless Dvalishvili can take Yan to the mat and do some damage with the ground and pound, it’s hard to see him being able to contend with Yan’s speedy hands and lethal combinations.

The fact that this is a five-round main event fight should not be discounted either, as Yan is very experienced in drawn out fights, with four of his last five fights going four rounds or more. Dvalishvili, on the other hand, has never fought more than three rounds in his MMA career, so the Russian will be at a clear advantage if this one goes to the championship rounds.

Alexander Volkov vs. Alexander Romanov Co-Main Event UFC Odds

Many of these non pay-per-view events have been pretty disappointing in terms of the quality of the fighters on hand, which is why the solid lineup for UFC Vegas 71 is so surprising. In the co-main event, we have another bout between two ranked fighters in No. 8 heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov and No. 14 contender Alexander Romanov.

Other than their first names, the end of their last names, and their Soviet birthplaces, there’s not a lot these two fighters have in common. While Volkov has earned 23 knockouts in his 45 fights, Romanov has only six in 17. Volkov has the power and experience advantage, but Romanov is the younger, more spry fighter, and his ability to make opponents pay with his jiu-jitsu on the ground (nine submissions on his resume) is why Romanov comes in as a solid favorite here.