Yan and Dvalishvili Set for Rematch; Yan Could Tie Merab's Bantamweight Win Record

Petr Yan is set to defend his bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili in a third meeting at UFC 333, and a win would pull the champion level with his opponent in two bantamweight milestone categories.

According to a stat comparison circulating around the matchup, Dvalishvili has 13 UFC bantamweight wins and four title-fight wins, while Yan has 12 bantamweight wins and three title-fight wins. A victory would tie Yan with Dvalishvili in both. The prediction market Kalshi lists Yan at a 60 percent chance to retain the belt.

The rivalry is level at one win apiece. Dvalishvili took a unanimous decision over Yan in March 2023 at a UFC Fight Night. Yan answered at UFC 323 on December 6, 2025, winning a unanimous decision over five rounds to claim the title.

Yan, 33, is 20-5 and fights out of Russia for the Archangel Michael Club. The switch-stance striker lands 5.12 significant strikes per minute at 54 percent accuracy. His most recent recorded fight is that title win over Dvalishvili, and before it he won decisions over Marcus McGhee in July 2025 and Deiveson Figueiredo in November 2024.

Dvalishvili, 35, is 21-5 and ranked first at bantamweight and second in the pound-for-pound list. The Georgian from the Serra-Longo Fight Team averages 6.4 takedowns per 15 minutes, against 1.58 for Yan. Before the Yan loss he won two title fights in 2025, a submission of Sean O'Malley in June and a decision over Cory Sandhagen in October.

Why it matters

• Yan can match Dvalishvili's 13 bantamweight wins and four title-fight wins with one victory.
• The series is tied 1-1, so the third fight settles it.
• The style gap is clear in the numbers: Yan out-lands Dvalishvili by 0.79 significant strikes per minute and is 12 points more accurate, while Dvalishvili's takedown rate is roughly four times Yan's.
• Yan is the younger fighter by two years, but Dvalishvili holds a two-centimetre height and three-centimetre reach advantage in the wrong direction for him: Yan stands 170 cm to 168 cm and reaches 170 cm to 173 cm, so Dvalishvili owns the reach edge.