The Dec. 6 UFC 323 pay-per-view occasion at T-Cellular Area in Las Vegas might be headlined by two world title bouts. In the principle occasion, bantamweight champion Merab Dvalilshvili places his title on the road in opposition to former titleholder Petr Yan.
UFC CEO Dana White introduced the information on Monday by way of social media.
Following his UFC 320 win over Cory Sandhagen on Oct. 4, Dvalishvili indicated that he needed to struggle yet one more time this 12 months to set the document for probably the most UFC title defenses in a calendar 12 months.
“You have to respect Merab for wanting to interrupt the document,” White stated on Instagram stay. “I really like this sh*t.”
Dvalishvili and Yan first fought at UFC Combat Night time 221 in March 2023. “The Machine” defeated Yan by way of unanimous choice however “No Mercy” believes his hand ought to have been raised.
Dvalishvili captured the 135-pound championship by defeating then-champion Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in September 2024 on the Sphere in Las Vegas. He defended the belt in opposition to Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January, then submitted O’Malley in a rematch at UFC 316 in June earlier than defeating Cory Sandhagen within the UFC 320 co-main occasion.
Since shedding to Dvalishvili, Yan has received three consecutive fights. He’ll enter the struggle ranked No. 2 within the division.
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