The Russian fighter proved that things were different in his second battle with Dvalishvili



History almost forgot about Petr Yan. Much of the excitement surrounding UFC 323 was fueled by Merab Dvalishvili's campaign to be the first fighter to make four successful UFC title defenses in one calendar year. Yan had other plans.

Yan didn't look like the UFC bantamweight champion of yore; he looked better. The now two-time champion's lauded boxing was on display, but he showed tremendous improvement in his takedown defense. Most impressively, Yan did something that no elite bantamweight before him could: he kept up with "The Machine." Dvalishvili's pace never slowed, but neither did Yan's. In fact, it was Yan who grew stronger as each round passed. It was a shocking evolution in Yan's game that stripped Dvalishvili of his best skill as Yan took a unanimous decision in the main event from T-Mobile Arena 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.

Yan landed the harder blows, bloodying Dvalishvili's face throughout the fight. More important than the facial lacerations was Yan's commitment to the body. Sean O'Malley revealed a potential weak spot in Dvalishvili's defense when he hurt him with a body shot in Round 5 of their first fight. Yan exploited that, hurting Dvalishvili with liver shots in rounds three through five. Yan stopped 22 of 24 takedown attempts and landed three against Dvalishvili.

Yan's return to the throne strips Dvalishvili of a unique accomplishment. Dvalishvili's dominant 2025 run saw him beat top contenders Umar Nurmagomedov, O'Malley and Corey Sandhagen in succession. A win over Yan would've made Dvalishvili the first fighter in UFC's 32-year history to make four successful title defenses in one year. Yan also complicates the 2025 Fighter of the Year discussion, which would've surely gone to Dvalishvili had he won.

Yan avenged his 2023 loss to Dvalishvili, the last stop in Yan's three-fight losing streak. Dvalishvili's 14-fight winning streak, which lasted seven years, came to an end in Sin City.

CBS Sports was with you the entire way Saturday with live updates and results below.

UFC 323 fight card, results
o Petr Yan def. Merab Dvalishvili (c) via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
o Joshua Van def. Alexandre Pantoja (c) via first-round TKO (injury)
o Tatsuro Taira def. Brandon Moreno via second-round TKO (punches)
o Payton Talbott def. Henry Cejudo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
o Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov ends in majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
o Manuel Torres def. Grant Dawson via first-round TKO (punches)
o Chris Duncan def. Terrance McKinney via first-round submission (anaconda choke)
o Maycee Barber def. Karine Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
o Fares Ziam def. Nazim Sadykhov via second-round TKO (punches)
o Brunno Ferreira def. Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
o Jalin Turner def. Edson Barboza via first-round TKO (punches)
o Iwo Baraniewski def. Ibo Aslan via first-round knockout (punches)
o Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Antonio Trocoli via first-round submission (standing guillotine choke)
o Mairon Santos def. Muhammad Naimov via third-round TKO (punches)

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