Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and former 135-pound titleholder Petr Yan will face off as opposing coaches on the next season of Hype Reality, Russia’s TUF-inspired reality show that previously featured Arman Tsarukyan and Khamzat Chimaev.
“The world is not ready yet,” wrote Internet personality Alfredo Auditore, who is sort of like Russia’s version of the Nelk Boys.
I think he meant “the world is not interested yet,” since we already saw Dvalishvili defeat Yan at UFC Las Vegas back in early 2023. In the nearly two years that followed, Dvalishvili went on to capture (and defend) the bantamweight title.
Yan rebounded with consecutive wins over Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo.
No word yet on when or where Hype Reality will stream online. As of this writing, both “The Machine” and “No Mercy” remain unbooked though it’s likely Yan — dormant since last November — will be tapped first as Dvalishvili waits for this rival to recover.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
