Dvalishvili vs. Yan at UFC 323: Champion seeks historic record!

Merab Dvalishvili Eyes New Octagon Milestone

Less than ten days away from defending his bantamweight title at UFC 322, champion Merab Dvalishvili already has his next challenge. Dvalishvili (21-4) will seek to defend his championship 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 his title four times in a single year.

You have to respect Merab for wanting to break the record. I love this s***.

Dana White, CEO of UFC

In addition to the main event, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (30-5) will defend his title against the promising Joshua Van (15-2). Henry Cejudo (16-5), former two-division champion, will also be part of 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 climbing the rankings towards the title. In that match, Dvalishvili dominated Yan, outstriking him in total strikes by 147-75 and winning each round according to the judges’ scorecards. Dvalishvili also managed to take down Yan, former champion, on 11 occasions. Dvalishvili, from Georgia, is positioned as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters.