The Dec. 6 UFC 323 pay-per-view event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will be headlined by two world title bouts. In the main event, bantamweight champion Merab Dvalilshvili puts his title on the line against former titleholder Petr Yan.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the news on Monday via social media.
Following his UFC 320 win over Cory Sandhagen on Oct. 4, Dvalishvili indicated that he wanted to fight one more time this year to set the record for the most UFC title defenses in a calendar year.
“You’ve got to respect Merab for wanting to break the record,” White said on Instagram live. “I love this sh*t.”
Dvalishvili and Yan first fought at UFC Fight Night 221 in March 2023. “The Machine” defeated Yan via unanimous decision but “No Mercy” believes his hand should have been raised.
Dvalishvili captured the 135-pound championship by defeating then-champion Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in September 2024 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. He defended the belt against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January, then submitted O’Malley in a rematch at UFC 316 in June before defeating Cory Sandhagen in the UFC 320 co-main event.
Since losing to Dvalishvili, Yan has won three consecutive fights. He’ll enter the fight ranked No. 2 in the division.
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