Merab Dvalishvili isn't interested in a war of words with Petr Yan. The bantamweight contender says Yan can talk all the trash he wants at UFC 333 press conferences, because he's not taking the bait heading into their highly anticipated matchup.

Dvalishvili challenges Petr Yan for the bantamweight title in the co-main event of Saturday's UFC 333 card. According to the promotion, this is a highly anticipated trilogy matchup.

The numbers suggest a genuine coin flip. Dvalishvili is priced at plus one hundred forty eight and Yan at minus one hundred sixty two, with our own model giving Yan the slight edge at fifty six percent to Dvalishvili's forty four percent. Elo tells a different story on paper, with Dvalishvili rating sixteen eleven across seven tracked bouts compared to Yan's fifteen fifty two across six, though title pressure and styles rarely map cleanly onto a rating number.

Fans are already digging into how Yan might approach the rematch. Body work could be one way to slow down a fighter who has built his reputation on volume and forward pressure over the course of his career.

Whatever Yan says between now and fight night, Dvalishvili's stated plan is to let his hands and his gas tank do the talking instead. With the belt on the line and a third chapter between these two finally set, UFC 333 gives both men a chance to settle the argument where it actually counts.