Yan batters Dvalishvili in rematch to reclaim UFC bantamweight title
Petr Yan is once again the king of the UFC bantamweight division.
Yan defeated Merab Dvalishvili via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) to recapture the 135-pound title in the UFC 323 main event Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
With the victory, Yan avenged a unanimous decision loss to Dvalishvili that came in a 2023 non-title bout.
"I'm very, very happy," Yan said through an interpreter in his postfight interview. "I worked so hard, I prepared so hard for this moment."
Yan ended Dvalishvili's 14-fight winning streak, which dated back to September 2018. It was the fourth-longest winning streak in promotion history.
Yan is the third fighter to win the 135-pound title twice after Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw.
"No Mercy" delivered a masterful performance, battering Dvalishvili on the feet and displaying impressive takedown defense. He outlanded the former champion 139-134 in significant strikes - though visibly did the most damage - and stopped 27 of 29 takedown attempts. Yan even completed five takedowns of his own.
Afterward, Dvalishvili - one of the world's top pound-for-pound fighters coming in - said he wants to fight Yan again.
"I want a rematch. I want to run it back," Dvalishvili said.
Dvalishvili was attempting to become the first fighter to successfully defend a UFC title four times in a calendar year. "The Machine" beat Sean O'Malley to win the belt in September 2024 and then defeated Umar Nurmagomedov, O'Malley, and Cory Sandhagen in his first three defenses earlier this year.
Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from Georgia, lost for the first time since facing Ricky Simon in his second UFC appearance in April 2018.
Yan has experienced a wild career turnaround over the last 18 months.
The 32-year-old Russian initially captured the title in July 2020 with a TKO win over Jose Aldo. But then he lost four of his next five, including the lopsided defeat to Dvalishvili.
Since then, Yan has won four straight, beating Song Yadong, Deiveson Figueiredo, Marcus McGhee, and now Dvalishvili.