Dvalishvili was outstruck, outwrestled, and outclassed en route to his first loss in over seven years. In addition to stripping “The Machine” of his strap, Yan spoiled a couple of big records along the way. Dvalishvili was looking to become the first UFC champion in history to defend a title four times within a calendar year.
That might be the combat sports version of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in baseball. UFC fighters rarely fight four times a year and champions typically fight event less, which is why there have only been two other champions (Kamaru Usman, Alex Pereira) since 2013 — a span of more than 12 years — to defend their titles three times within a calendar year.
Merab also failed to tie Usman at 15 on the promotion’s list of consecutive wins.
The sportsbooks were quick to release opening odds on their inevitable rubber match, which is likely to go down in spring of 2026. Despite his commanding performance at UFC 323, BetOnline.ag opened Yan as the +130 underdog against -150 for Dvalishvili.
“This is an incredible moment in my life,” Yan told ESPN. “I was working so hard for this. Right now, emotionally, I’m a little bit drained, but I know how much hard work I put in, and I know how this feels around my waist. The entire length of the fight, I was cold blooded, cold headed, and warm hearted. Everything worked. The jab worked, the takedown worked, and I didn’t let him take me down. The preparation really worked.”
“The thoughts I had in those last rounds was me hearing my corner men saying, ‘you have to leave your entire self in these rounds,’ because I knew that if I wasn’t gonna do it right now, I was gonna be blaming myself for not working all the way,“ Yan added. ”Any fighter that fights, not just in the UFC, but other organizations too, they know this feeling. They know that this is the kind of feeling that you carry for the rest of your life.“
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