Less than ten days before 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 achieves victory, he will become the first champion in UFC history to defend his 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). This fight will be a rematch of their five-round encounter in March 2023, when Dvalishvili was rising to contend for the title. In that fight, Dvalishvili dominated Yan, outstriking him in total strikes by 147-75 and winning every 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. I love this shit.
Dana White
