Less than ten days away from defending his title at UFC 322, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili already has his next fight scheduled. Dvalishvili (21-4) will seek to defend his title for the fourth time this year in the main event of UFC 323, facing Petr Yan (19-5) on December 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, according to UFC CEO Dana White. If Dvalishvili achieves victory, he will become the first champion in UFC history to defend a championship four times in a single year.
In addition to the main event, the flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja (30-5), will defend his title against the promising Joshua Van (15-2). Henry Cejudo (16-5), a former two-division champion, will also participate on the card, facing Payton Talbott (10-1). This fight will represent a rematch of the five-round fight that took place in March 2023, when Dvalishvili was ascending to obtain the title. Dvalishvili dominated Yan in that matchup, outstriking him in total strikes by 147-75 and winning each round according to the judges’ scorecards. Dvalishvili also landed 11 takedowns against Yan, who is a former champion. Dvalishvili, from Georgia, is ranked number 3 in the pound-for-pound rankings worldwide.“You have to respect Merab for wanting to break the record,” White commented. “I love this s***.”
Dana White, CEO of UFC
