Join us here at Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, and play-by-play (main event) as UFC Vegas 71: Yan vs. Dvalishvili event goes down from the the Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The main event for this fight night will take place in the bantamweight division, with former champion Petr Yan taking on Merab Dvalishvili. The co-main will be at heavyweight, with veteran Alexander Volkov meeting Alexander Romanov. The main card will also feature a fight that was supposed to be a main event a couple of weeks ago at 205, with Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spann facing off at a 215-pound catchweight.
This will be an ESPN+ show but will be kicking off a little earlier than usual. The seven-fight preliminary card is scheduled to start at 3pm ET/Noon PT on ESPN+. The six-fight main card is also on ESPN+, and that is supposed to start at 6pm ET/3pm PT. For the areas outside of the United States, you can catch all the scheduled contests on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card
Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Round 1 – Yan won’t touch gloves. Yans takes the center. Dvalishvili immediately shoots but can’t put Yan on his back. Again. Yan pulls his leg out of a single and cracks his opponent with a low leg kick. Dvalishvili with his own. Yan throws a slapping kick which is evaded by the Georgian. Yan has been warned one about having his fingers extended, and referee Herb Dean stops the action to give him a hard warning less than two minutes in. Another good low kick from Yan. Body kick moving forward. Dvalishvili with a single that gets nowhere again. Dean warns yet again for fingers extended. Yan is going to lose a point if he keeps it up. Another single attempt, another Yan defense, another hard Yan low kick. Merab is gonna have to switch to doubles or trips inside. Dvalishvili lands a leg kick and a right. He’s working a front headlock game to stall Yan, but Yan lands a big elbow on the break. ANOTHER warning by Dean about fingers. Yan shoots for some reason but is immediately reversed. Dvalishvili punishes him while Yan gets up. Standing gullotine from Dvalishvili. 10-9 Yan.
Round 2 – Dvalishvili shoots again right away but Yan scoots away. Yan just sidesteps the next attempt. Nice right hook from Dvalishvili. Yan fires back. Another short hook from Dvalishvili, but he eats a counter. Elbows from Dvalishvili but Yan blocks them. Yet another right gets through. Yan clubs him with a left. Dvalishvili FINALLY gets Yan to his butt with a power double-leg takedown but Yan once again manages to get back up without ending up on his back. Another single attempt. Yan defends. Yan catches a kick and puts Dvalishvili on his back. He’s still right there but Yan takes top position. Dvalishvili scoots to the cage and uses it to get up. They battle in the clinch. Dvalishvili uses a leg kick to break it. Yan with a two-punch combo. Dvalishvili clubs him right back and gets Yan down. As usual, Yan regains his feet almost immediately and fights hands. Short shot and guillotine attempt from Dvalishvili. He tries to hit a head-and-arm throw but ends up on his back. 10-9 Dvalishvili, but really close.
Round 3 – Body kick from Dvalishvili. He spins and misses. He lands a lunging straight right. He’s all over Yan. Yan throws a hard elbow inside that partially connects. Dvalishvili throws a right and shoots. Nothing there but he lands a nice knee in a brief clinch. Yan sidesteps the next takedown attempt and partially connects on a head kick. Dvalishvili gets a partial bodylock and ragdolls Yan a bit. Yan pushes him against he cage and…I’m not sure what he’s doing. I don’t think he is either because he gave it up and reset in the middle. Dvalishvilli shoots (shocker) but is rebuffed (shocker again). He does have a legit bodylock this time, but Yan is deftly peeling it off. Yan goes down to his knees but pops up and they reset. Dvalishvili fakes a single on one leg and grabs the other. Yan deals with it. And again. As my Spanish announcers are saying, Yan’s takedown defense is maravilla. They trade shots on the feet and Dvalishvili looks for another takedown. Yan double jabs. 10-9 Yan.
Round 4 – Yan’s right eye is swollen. Head kick from Dvalishvili, body kick from Yan. Dvalishvili is throwing half-hearted strikes that Yan is easily evading. They’re seemingly just setups to look for a takedown, and that’s what he tries next. He gets a bodylock and drags Yan to his knees. For about four seconds. Yan peels the hands and spins around, pushing Dvalishvili against the cage. Dvalishvili pats his opponent on the ass a few times for some reason – probably to get him to do something, which he’s not. Dvalishvili finally spins out and they go back to the center with 2:45 to go. Dvalishvili with a right and a left jab. Yan tries to jab and defends another takedown attempt. Dvalishvili with a couple of low kicks. Single leg scoop. Nada. Nice double jab and a right from Dvalishvili though. Yan with a hard left but his output is way down this round. Dvalishvili presses. Low kick from Yan. Yet another shot attempt. Yan grabs a leg this time and tries to sweep him down but no go. 10-9 Dvalishvili to me.
Round 5 – Dvalishvili with the front headlock and a knee. Body kick once they separate. Nice right. They both land at the same time. He shoots and is rebuffed. He shoots again. Shocker, Yan defends while Matt Serra yells KNEE HIM TO DEATH! He finally gets Yan off his feet – for about a second. He goes back down, and right back up. They reset. Dvalishvili tries again. and fails again. But he lands four nice punches in a row before eating a jab. He gets his hands connected and throws Yan down, Unsurprisingly he’s back up in no time. 2:20 to go. Back in the c enter. Yan with a low kick. He blocks a high kick from his opponent. Dvalishvili with a short elbow and he’s relentless. Nice thudding body kick from Yan. Dvalishvili dumps Yan to his butt and jumps on his back. Yan actually stays down for a whole ten seconds this time before getting up and separating. Dvalishvili dumps him with a single but again back up. Dvalishvili with all the volume, jabs and body kicks. Yan with a lead left. They tumble and get back up. Dvalishvili pins him to the cage, but they separate and throw down to the horn! Good finish. 10-9 and 48-47 Dvalishvili on my card. But nothing would surprise me.
Merab Dvalishvili defeated Petr Yan via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Alexander Volkov defeated Alexandr Romanov via TKO (strikes), 2:16 of round 1
Nikita Krylov defeated Ryan Spann via submission (rear naked choke), 3:38 of round 1
Jonathan Martinez defeated Said Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mario Bautista defeated Guido Cannetti via submission (rear naked choke), 3:18 of round 1
Vitor Petrino defeated Anton Turkalj via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Prelims
Karl Williams defeated ?ukasz Brzeski via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Davey Grant defeated Raphael Assuncao via submission (inverted triangle choke), 4:43 of round 3
Josh Fremd defeated Sedriques Dumas via submission (guillotine choke), 3:00 of round 2
Victor Henry defeated Tony Gravely via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Ariane Lipski defeated JJ Aldrich via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Bruno Silva defeated Tyson Nam via submission (rear naked choke), 1:23 of round 2
Carlston Harris defeated Jared Gooden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)