Petr Yan defends bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili in trilogy bout at UFC 333

Petr Yan will make the first defense of his second bantamweight title reign against former champion Merab Dvalishvili in a trilogy bout at UFC 333. The matchup comes nearly six years after Yan first claimed UFC gold.

Yan, 33, holds a 20-5 record and enters as champion. The Russian fights out of Archangel Michael Club and works from a switch stance. He lands 5.12 significant strikes per minute at 54 percent accuracy, the sharper numbers of the two fighters, and his recorded takedown average sits at 1.58 per 15 minutes. His most recent recorded fight was the unanimous-decision win over Dvalishvili at UFC 323 on December 6, 2025, which put the belt back around his waist.

Dvalishvili, 35, is 21-5 and ranks first in the bantamweight division and second in the pound-for-pound list. The Georgian trains with the Serra-Longo Fight Team and is known for relentless wrestling: his 6.4 takedowns per 15 minutes is roughly four times Yan's rate. He lands 4.33 significant strikes per minute at 42 percent accuracy. Before the loss to Yan, he had won two straight title fights, a unanimous decision over Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 and a third-round submission of Sean O'Malley at UFC 316.

Why it matters

• The series is level at one win apiece. Dvalishvili took a unanimous decision over Yan on March 11, 2023, and Yan returned the favor in their December 2025 rematch, also by unanimous decision over five rounds.
• Both previous meetings went the full distance, so the trilogy follows two five-round contests with no finish between the pair.
• The style contrast is stark: Yan's higher-accuracy striking against Dvalishvili's takedown volume. Yan stands two inches taller at five-foot-seven against five-foot-six, and the reach gap is also small, 170 centimeters to 173 centimeters in Dvalishvili's favor.
• Dvalishvili is the division's top-ranked contender, so a win would return him to the belt, while Yan can tilt the rivalry in his favor with another victory.