Merab Dvalishvili will attempt to break the UFC record for most successful title defences in one year in December, as he makes a rapid turnaround to face Petr Yan.
Dvalishvili retained the men’s bantamweight belt on 4 October, outpointing Cory Sandhagen to build on a January decision over Umar Nurmagomedov and an August submission of Sean O’Malley.
And just nine days after Dvalishvili’s latest win, it was announced that he will return to the Octagon to headline UFC 323 on 6 December, facing former champion Yan.
Georgia’s Dvalishvili, 34, outpointed Yan in 2023 as part of his rise through the rankings, which led to a title win over O’Malley in September 2024.
Dvalishvili is riding a 14-fight win streak dating back to 2018, while Yan will enter the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on a three-fight winning run. The Russian, 32, has not lost since his defeat by Dvalishvili.
“On the Monday after Merab’s title defence at UFC 320, he came into the offices here,” said UFC president Dana White, in an announcement video, referencing the Georgian’s win over Sandhagen. “[He] told us how important it was to him to break the record for the most [successful] title defences in a year. He’s looking to make an unprecedented fourth title defence in under a year.”
In UFC 323’s co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja will defend his flyweight title against Joshua Van.
Pantoja, like Dvalishvili, has become one of the UFC’s top pound-for-pound fighters with a dominant reign, having retained the belt four times since dethroning Brandon Moreno in 2023.
The Brazilian, 35, holds successful title defences against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, Kai Asakura and Kai Kara-France, the latter of whom he submitted in June.
On that same night, 24-year-old Van outpointed Royval in a significant leap in competition. That victory has now secured the Myanmar fighter his first title shot.
Also at UFC 323, former dual-weight champion Henry Cejudo takes on bantamweight up-and-comer in Payton Talbott, while Moreno and 205lb star Jan Blachowicz are the other former champions scheduled to compete. They take on Tatsuro Taira and Bogdan Guskov respectively.
