Merab Dvalishvili looked to make more history, and it ended up biting him in the backside. Petr Yan put on a star performance unlike anyone ever has against Dvalishvili, winning on the scorecards and becoming a two-time UFC bantamweight champion in the main event of UFC 323.
Yan looked to bring the fight to Dvalishvili from the beginning, and it seemed to work. Yan’s pressure allowed him to go toe-to-toe with anything Dvalishvili threw at him in the first and preventing any successful takedowns from the defending champ in the first. Yan added in a strong right hand that busted Dvalishvili open.
Yan continued to find success in the second round with his jab. He even scored a takedown on Dvalishvili, which resulted in an impressive scrambling trade between the two men. Even as Dvalishvili looked for takedowns late in the round, while adding in jabs, Yan continued to defend.
Yan looked to bring the pressure again and tie Dvalishvili up, scoring a takedown. Then, Dvalishvili picked up Yan as he did Cejudo before slamming Yan to the mat. Yan got up quickly, though he was the victim of another quick mat return. Yan, however, managed to hurt Dvalishvili again, busting him open again and rocking him with a body kick.
Dvalishvili threatened a guillotine choke early in the fourth round, but Yan was able to work his way out of the submission. Yan continued to show off takedown defense against Dvalishvili’s consistent takedown efforts, and Yan continued to damage him with his punching. Yan continued to hurt Dvalishvili with body shots
Yan’s striking continued to find its mark in the fifth round, locking up the scorecards and the bantamweight gold for Yan.
Petr Yan Regains Bantamweight Title With Upset Of Merab Dvalishvili At UFC 323
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This was a rematch from their UFC Las Vegas main event in March 2023, which Dvalishvili won via decision.
Since then, Yan had won three straight to earn the rematch and title shot tonight, defeating Song Yadong, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Marcus McGhee.
Yan became bantamweight champion the first time by finishing Jose Aldo at UFC 251. He then lost the championship via DQ to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259. He’d defeat Cory Sandhagen for interim gold at UFC 267 but lost an undisputed championship rematch with Sterling at UFC 273.
Dvalishvili tastes defeat for the first time since dropping his first two UFC bouts in 2017-18. He originally won the title by defeating Sean O’Malley at Noche UFC 2: UFC 306. He had retained the title against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311, O’Malley at UFC 316, and Sandhagen at UFC 320.
