Dvalishvili vs Yan: Title Rematch at UFC 323 on December 6th

Merab Dvalishvili Seeks a New Milestone in the Octagon

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 face Petr Yan (19-5) in the main event of UFC 323, scheduled for 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 his title four times in the same calendar year.

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

Dana White

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), a former two-division champion, will also be part of the card, facing Payton Talbott (10-1). This fight will be a rematch of the five-round fight that took place in March 2023. In that match, Dvalishvili dominated Yan, outstriking him in total strikes by 147-75 and winning all rounds according to the judges’ scorecards. Dvalishvili also landed 11 takedowns on Yan, who is a former champion. Dvalishvili, from Georgia, is ranked number 3 in the pound-for-pound rankings.