Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Merab Dvalishvili shared a brutal lesson he learned in his second fight against Petr Yan ahead of their UFC 333 trilogy.

UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan will return to the Octagon to co-headline UFC 333 against two-time foe Merab Dvalishvili later this year. In arguably the biggest fight in UFC bantamweight history, Yan and Dvalishvili will look to settle their long-standing rivalry inside the Octagon.

Yan pulled off the stunning upset over Dvalishvili last year at UFC 323, defeating the then-reigning titleholder by unanimous decision. Now, Yan and Dvalishvili will run it back as both fighters enter their trilogy with one win apiece.

Before the loss to Yan in their rematch, Dvalishvili was thought of as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, a title he’ll look to reclaim later this year at UFC 333. But according to the man himself, Dvalishvili learned a lot from the rematch in terms of everything that encapsulated the pre-fight buildup.

Merab Dvalishvili shares the unique danger Petr Yan presents in UFC 333 trilogy

In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Dvalishvili made a brutally honest admission about his winner-takes-all showdown with Yan.

“I have one of the toughest challenges in front of me, and usually I do very well when I know I have a tough opponent and challenge,” Dvalishvili said of Yan.

“I’m working very hard, but now I’m trying to be smarter. I was working hard for the last fight, but wasn’t taking breaks, and I was just burning myself out. Petr Yan – he’ll never be an easy fight for me. I knew that [before], but it surprised me how good he is and how hard he hits.

“If I don’t prepare really, really well, he will beat the s— out of me again.”

What is your prediction for Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili 3? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM