Petr Yan News

Dylan Bowker - January 21, 2026

Petr Yan climbing atop the bantamweight throne was an impactful moment to close out 2025, and a teammate of Yan’s who also won gold last December has weighed in on the former ACA standout regaining UFC hardware. In the same month that Yan regained the 135-pound strap and avenged a prior loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323, but his Tiger Muay Thai teammate also won championship gold, but under the Rizin FF banner. Ilkhom Nozimov halted Rizin’s longest tenured titleholder, lightweight king Roberto Satoshi De Souza, in thirteen seconds to wrest the RFF 155-pound belt from the division’s inaugural champ. Nozimov also previously mirrored the stylistic proclivities of Sean O’Malley during TMT training sessions prior to the fight that Yan had with ‘Suga.’

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2025

Henry Cejudo has explained why he believes Petr Yan deserves to be called Fighter of the Year in the UFC. This year, Petr Yan was able to go 2-0 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He first defeated Marcus McGhee back in July, before going on to beat Merab Dvalishvili and reclaim the UFC bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 323 – which is something very few people thought he could do.

Harry Kettle - December 17, 2025

UFC analyst Din Thomas believes Merab Dvalishvili will get the trilogy fight against Petr Yan in his next outing. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili came up short in his attempt to successfully defend the UFC bantamweight championship for the fourth time in 2025. He lost the strap to Petr Yan, who was able to avenge his loss from their first meeting. As you can imagine, Merab is pretty determined to get a trilogy bout against the new champion.

Curtis Calhoun - December 10, 2025

It didn’t take long for tensions to ramp back up between Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan after their rematch at UFC 323. Petr Yan got his revenge against Merab Dvalishvili last weekend in the UFC 323 main event. More than two years after Dvalishvili put on a history-making performance in their first fight, Yan outpointed Dvalishvili by unanimous decision, showcasing a ‘master class’ in the eyes of analyst Joe Rogan.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 9, 2025

Aljamain Sterling won’t find too many people who agree with his UFC 323 take. In the UFC 323 main event, Merab Dvalishvili put the UFC Bantamweight Championship on the line against Petr Yan. The bout didn’t go the way many envisioned, as Yan thwarted the grappling of “The Machine.” He was also able to pepper his opponent on the feet on his way to a unanimous decision win.

Harry Kettle - December 9, 2025

UFC star Sean O’Malley has given his thoughts on a possible rematch between himself and new bantamweight champion Petr Yan. As we know, Sean O’Malley is a former UFC bantamweight champion and one of the biggest names in mixed martial arts. After consecutive losses to Merab Dvalishvili, though, he needs to rebuild his reputation at 135 pounds, and that starts with a clash against Song Yadong next month.

Dylan Bowker - December 8, 2025

Petr Yan put together a masterclass performance to become a two-time UFC bantamweight champion, but he also put his name in the record books in a fashion that no fighter had done previously in the octagon. Yan avenged a prior loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323 to unseat the dominant champion in a one-sided performance that shocked many due to the lack of competitiveness within it. When Yan fell short to Dvalishvili in their initial fight, it was the third loss in a row for the Russian combatant, with prior setbacks to Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley. In a statistic provided by X account @MMAonPoint, it drew attention to the fact that no UFC fighter has ever gone on to regain their title after going on a three-fight losing streak since losing their hold on the gold.

Cole Shelton - December 8, 2025

The UFC had its final pay-per-view card of the year on Saturday as the promotion was in Las Vegas, Nevada, for UFC 323. The main event saw Merab Dvalishvili defending his bantamweight title in a rematch against Petr Yan. The co-main event saw Alexandre Pantoja defending his flyweight strap against Joshua Van. In the end, it was Yan who pulled off the upset as he dominated Dvalishvili in all five rounds to cruise to a lopsided decision win to reclaim his bantamweight title. Van, meanwhile, became the new flyweight champ as Pantoja suffered an arm injury not even a minute into the fight.

Harry Kettle - December 8, 2025

UFC star Merab Dvalishvili has already made it clear that he is interested in a trilogy fight against rival Petr Yan. Last weekend at UFC 323, Merab Dvalishvili lost his UFC bantamweight championship at the hands of Petr Yan. It was an incredible performance from the Russian sensation and ultimately, the judges saw it the same way, as he was able to reclaim the gold – something no fighter in UFC history has ever done after going on a three-fight losing streak.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 7, 2025

Sean O’Malley reacted to Petr Yan’s stellar performance against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323. Yan challenged Dvalishvili for the UFC Bantamweight Championship this past Saturday in Las Vegas. It was a chance for Yan to not only reclaim the 135-pound gold, but to also get some revenge after being defeated by “The Machine” back in 2023. Mission accomplished for Yan, who earned the unanimous decision victory to close out his 2025.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 7, 2025

It didn’t take long for Petr Yan to get a message from someone who could be the next UFC bantamweight title challenger. Yan was the underdog entering his rematch with Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323 on Saturday. While Yan dropped a unanimous decision to “The Machine” back in 2023, the rematch was a different story. Yan had success thwarting the grappling of Dvalishvili, which allowed him to work his standup game.

Harry Kettle - December 7, 2025

Former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling has given his thoughts on Petr Yan defeating Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323. In the main event of UFC 323, Petr Yan defeated Merab Dvalishvili to become the new UFC bantamweight champion. It was an absolutely incredible performance from the Russian sensation, to the point where on two scorecards, he won by four rounds to one. After years of being away from the title picture, he has finally been able to work his way back to the very top.

Chris Taylor - December 6, 2025

Tonight’s UFC 323 event was headlined by a men’s bantamweight title fight rematch featuring Merab Dvalishvili taking on Petr Yan. Dvalishvili (21-5 MMA) was making a quick turnaround tonight in Las Vegas, this after recently defeating Cory Sandhagen at October’s UFC 320 event. ‘The Machine’ had previously defended the promotion‘s bantamweight world title on three occasions in the 2025 calendar year, this while defeating the likes of Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley and the aforementioned ‘Sandman’.

Chris Taylor - December 6, 2025

We have you covered for all of tonight’s UFC 323 results, including the main event men’s bantamweight rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan. Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA) will be making a quick turnaround, this after defeating Cory Sandhagen at October’s UFC 320 event. ‘The Machine’ has successfully defended the promotion‘s bantamweight world title on three occasions in 2025, this while defeating Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley and the aforementioned ‘Sandman’.

Chris Taylor - December 6, 2025

The Octagon returns to T-Mobile Arena for tonight’s UFC 323 event, a 14-bout fight card headlined by Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan 2. Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA) will be making a quick turnaround, this after defeating Cory Sandhagen at October’s UFC 320 event. ‘The Machine’ has successfully defended the promotion‘s bantamweight world title on three occasions in 2025, this while defeating Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley and the aforementioned ‘Sandman’.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 5, 2025

One former champion doesn’t think Petr Yan can do much to turn things around against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323. Yan will get a second chance to get the better of Dvalishvili on Saturday, but the UFC Bantamweight Championship will be at stake this go-around. “The Machine” scored a unanimous decision victory over Yan back in 2023.

Harry Kettle - December 5, 2025

UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili has hit back at Petr Yan after he claimed that he was injured during their first fight. Tomorrow night, Merab Dvalishvili will defend the UFC bantamweight championship against Petr Yan at UFC 323. It has the potential to be one of the most intriguing fights of the year, especially given the insane activity of Merab who, in 2025 alone, has been able to put together a 3-0 run.

Cole Shelton - December 4, 2025

Petr Yan knows he will have to beat Merab Dvalishvili twice if he’s going to remain the bantamweight champion. Yan is set to return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC 323 in a rematch against Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title. Although Yan is a sizable underdog and was dominated by Dvalishvili two years prior, he has full confidence that he will get his hand raised.