Petr Yan defeated Merab Dvalishvili with a dominating effort to capture the bantamweight championship by unanimous decision at UFC 323 on Saturday night.

With punishing strikes and several crushing kicks to the rib cage, Yan (20-5) ended Dvalishvili’s 14-match winning streak.

“I’m very happy to stand here with the championship belt, thank you to all the fans,” Yan said, through an interpreter. “I worked so hard, I prepared so hard for this moment.”

Dvalishvili (21-5) hadn’t lost since April 21, 2018, when Ricky Simon won by submission. It was his fourth title match of 2025.

Yan exacted revenge for his last loss when Dvalishvili defeated the 32-year-old by unanimous decision on a UFC Fight Night card on March 11, 2023.

Dvalishvili, 34, closed a -425 favorite, which meant a bettor laid

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