UFC 323: Merab Dvalishvili gets his wish, Petr Yan rematch set for December as champ eyes historic 4-0 year

Merab Dvalishvili will get his chance to make history with a fourth UFC title defense in a calendar year.

UFC CEO Dana White announced Monday that the reigning UFC bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (21-4) is set to defend his belt in a rematch against Petr Yan (19-5) on Dec. 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in the main event of UFC 323. Dvalishvili has already defended his title three times in 2025, beating Umar Nurmagomedov in January, Sean O’Malley in June, and most recently Cory Sandhagen earlier this month at UFC 320. No UFC champion has ever defended their belt four times in a calendar year.

The title tilt is a rematch nearly two years removed from their first meeting. Dvalishvili defeated Yan via dominant unanimous decision in March 2023, overwhelming the former UFC champ with his patented relentless pace and wrestling over five rounds. The victory is infamously remembered for Dvalishvili setting the UFC’s all-time takedown attempt record in a single fight, with 49 attempts against Yan.

Dvalishvili, 34, defeated Sandhagen at UFC 320 on Oct. 4. In the aftermath of the fight, “The Machine” made his intentions clear that he wanted to fight again in December. Now, he’ll get his wish.

Since Dvalishvili and Yan’s first meeting, both fighters have taken different paths but remained among the bantamweight division’s top names.

Yan rebounded with three straight wins over Song Yadong, Deiveson Figueiredo and most recently Marcus McGhee, regaining much of the consistency that once made him champion. The Russian contender called for a December rematch with Dvalishvili earlier this month on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” and cited a broken right hand for his poor performance in their first bout.

“If you just look at the stats of our previous fight, you can see that I only used my right hand maybe like three or four times,” Yan said. “I couldn’t punch with my right hand. I couldn’t use it to defend the wrestling. It’s just facts. If you compare it to my different fights, that’s the hand I use the most.

“I never really turn down any fights. I’ve many times competed injured. I cannot say that I don’t regret it, but now at least I have an opportunity to win the rematch.”

Dvalishvili vs. Yan 2 wasn’t the only title fight confirmed Monday for UFC 323, as White also announced the co-main event will feature the flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja defending his 125-pound title against up-and-coming star striker Joshua Van. In addition, former two-division champion Henry Cejudo is set to take on rising prospect Payton Talbott in a bantamweight matchup, and former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz looks to fend off Bogdan Guskov.

Check out the current UFC 323 lineup below: