Merab Dvalishvili (21-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) can take the rest of the year off in the wake of his defeat to new UFC Bantamweight Champion Petr Yan (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) last Saturday night. The promotion wants the now-former king of the mountain at 135 to take off as much time as he thinks he needs.
Saturday’s fight at UFC 323 was a rematch of a March 2023 main event at a UFC Fight Night at the UFC Apex. That night almost three years ago, Dvalishvili went the distance with Yan, coming away the victor after 25 minutes of action.
The final pay-per-view event of the year saw the all-time series between Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan get even at 1-1. With the calendar set to turn to 2026 in a few weeks, Dana White and his staff have made one aspect of the company’s plans for the new year as clear as a bell: The UFC is already planning a third chapter to the story.
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Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan, Part III Coming in 2026
Merab Dvalishvili posted a video online in his native language and the video made the rounds on social media earlier Tuesday. In it, he mentions that the UFC would like to book a third fight versus Yan as soon as he’s ready.
“The UFC contacted me and said ‘Please rest as long as you want,'” Merab Dvalishvili began, translated from Georgian. “Your next fight is a rematch with Petr Yan for the belt. Rest as long as you want and call us when you’re ready.”
“They probably want to do the fight in the summer, but I don’t want to wait until the summer,” he continued. “I want to schedule the fight early, maybe in the spring, in April will be good, or maybe the fight can be scheduled in the summer.”
It isn’t too shocking that Merab Dvalishvili would want to get back in the fabled Octagon as soon as he possibly can. Revenge will be on his mind whenever the title fight happens.
Turnabout is Fair Play for Merab Dvalishvili
With the UFC ordering an eventual trilogy bout between Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan whenever the former is prepared to return, it’s another example of an age-old saying, “Turnabout is fair play.” It’s already been fair play in this rivalry.
Act one of this story resulted in a Merab Dvalishvili victory. From there, Petr Yan rattled off three victories in succession before last Saturday evening’s championship triumph in Enterprise.
Merab Dvalishvili had been on a tear before last weekend’s card. Ahead of UFC 323, he’d won 14 fights in a row. In the video posted online, the ex-champion said he isn’t that hurt from the Dec. 6 contest.
“I’ll repeat once again: I didn’t get any serious injuries from this fight,” he mentioned.
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Peter Yan III Will be One of 2026’s Most-Amazing Fights
2025 still has three weeks to go. While an official word on a booking of a trilogy fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan won’t come for some time, make no mistake: This contest, when it does, indeed, take place, is going to be the main event on the card that night.
If the ESPN+ era of UFC coverage still existed in the new year, MMA fans up and down the United States of America would be eager to quote Phillip J. Fry from the animated series Futurama and say “Shut up and take my money.” With the UFC moving its schedule of events to Paramount Plus effective Jan. 24 with UFC 324, they no longer need to worry about that.
It might end up being among the flagship shows from the UFC to be simulcast on linear television via CBS. Given that this is a trilogy bout we’re talking about here, this is a contest that CBS may very well be interested in.
