7 December 14:22
Russian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, a native of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Petr Yan defeated Georgian Merab Dvalishvili in the title fight of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the bantamweight division. UFC 323 took place in Las Vegas.
Yang won by unanimous decision: 49-46, 49-46, 48-47.
Yan is 32 years old and has 20 wins and 5 losses in MMA. He was the first Russian to return the championship title to the UFC; earlier, the athlete was able to win the bantamweight title in July 2020, defeating Brazilian Jose Aldo by technical knockout. In March 2021, Yan was disqualified from a fight with American Aljamain Sterling due to a knee strike on the ground. In April 2022, the Russian lost to the US representative in a rematch by a split decision.
Dvalishvili is 34 years old, he won 21 victories and suffered his 5th defeat in mixed martial arts. The Georgian became champion in September 2024 after defeating American Sean O'Malley by unanimous decision. After that, he successfully defended the championship title three times. In 2023, Dvalishvili defeated Yan by unanimous decision.
