Less than 10 days before defending his title at UFC 322, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili already has his next fight. 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 would 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 contender Joshua Van (15-2). The former two-division champion, Henry Cejudo (16-5), will also participate in the card, facing Payton Talbott (10-1).You have to respect Merab for wanting to break the record. I love this sh**.
Dana White
This fight will be a rematch of the five-round fight that took place in March 2023, when Dvalishvili was climbing the rankings towards the title. In that match, Dvalishvili dominated Yan, outstriking him in total strikes 147-75 and winning every round according to the judges’ scorecards. Dvalishvili also managed to take down Yan, former champion, on 11 occasions.
Dvalishvili, from Georgia, is ranked as the third pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
