Less than ten days away from defending his title at UFC 322, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili already has his next challenge. 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 is victorious, he will become the first champion in UFC history to defend a championship four times in the same calendar 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). 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 their five-round encounter in March 2023, when Dvalishvili was climbing the rankings towards the title. In that meeting, Dvalishvili dominated Yan, outstriking him in total strikes by 147-75 and winning every round according to the judges’ scorecards. Dvalishvili also managed to take down Yan, the former champion, on 11 occasions. 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. I love this.
Dana White
