Petr Yan accomplishes an unprecedented feat with UFC 323 title win

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.

In a vacuum, the kind of win Yan authored over a man that many were calling the bantamweight GOAT is massive in and of itself. But the historical component takes it to an entirely different level. Addressing the never-before-seen feat inside the confines of the UFC’s cage, the newly minted titleholder took to his personal social media to address the MMA world, as Yan said,

“History is made. Thanks to everyone who supported me through all the hard times. Especially my family and my team, this win is for you. Now everything in it’s right place”

Petr Yan does not see Merab Dvalishvili trilogy bout happening next

Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili now have one victory apiece against each other in their pair of bouts, but the former does not see a rubber match happening with the latter, at least not as the immediate next contest. Despite the nature of both men authoring dominant victories over each other across their respective wins, Yan seems to think Dvalishvili has to earn another win before getting another shot at the title.

In fact, the third man to win bantamweight gold on two occasions suggested that Dvalishvili has a different sort of rematch entirely with Umar Nurmagomedov and that the victor of that bout would be more ideally positioned for another crack at the strap. This was articulated by Yan during the UFC 323 post-fight press conference once the dust had settled on what could perhaps be the UFC‘s final pay-per-view offering ever as they head into 2026’s Paramount media rights deal.