Nearly six years after first capturing UFC gold, Petr Yan is once again the king of the bantamweight division. At UFC 333, he faces former champion Merab Dvalishvili in their trilogy bout, looking to secure the first successful title defense of his second reign.
Petr Yan will make the first defense of his second bantamweight title reign against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333, a trilogy bout that settles a rivalry between the division's two most decorated contenders of the past several years.
Yan, nearly six years removed from first winning UFC gold, reclaimed the belt in their most recent meeting. He took a unanimous decision over Dvalishvili at UFC 323 on December 6, 2025, a five-round title fight. That win evened the series at one apiece, after Dvalishvili won a unanimous decision over Yan in March 2023.
Yan, 33, is 20-5-0 and the reigning champion out of Russia. His recent run is clean: he beat Deiveson Figueiredo by unanimous decision in November 2024, Marcus McGhee by unanimous decision in July 2025, and then Dvalishvili for the title. The switch-stance striker lands 5.12 significant strikes per minute at 54 percent accuracy, and averages 1.58 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Dvalishvili, 35, is 21-5-0 and ranked number one at bantamweight and second in the pound-for-pound list. The Georgian fights out of the Serra-Longo Fight Team and built his reputation on relentless wrestling, averaging 6.4 takedowns per 15 minutes. Before the loss to Yan, he beat Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision at UFC 320 in October 2025 and submitted Sean O'Malley in the third round at UFC 316 in June 2025, both title fights.
Why it matters
- Yan is chasing the first successful defense of his second reign, with the first title defense still ahead of him.
- The series is tied 1-1, and both previous meetings went the full five rounds by unanimous decision.
- The numbers frame a clear style contrast: Yan out-lands Dvalishvili 5.12 to 4.33 strikes per minute with 12 points better accuracy (54 to 42 percent), while Dvalishvili's takedown rate is roughly four times Yan's.
- Physically they are close. Yan is an inch taller at 170 cm to 168 cm and owns a three-centimeter reach edge, 170 cm to 173 cm in Dvalishvili's favor being reversed: Dvalishvili's 173 cm reach is the longer of the two.
The rubber match will decide who holds the clearer claim to the top of the bantamweight division.
Merab Dvalishvili vs Petr Yan
See the AI pick, live odds and the full matchup breakdown
