UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan successfully defended his belt with a unanimous decision win over Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333.
Yan won a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards after coming back from losing the first two rounds to win the final three rounds and successfully defend the UFC bantamweight title after what was an absolutely incredible fight.
Petr Yan Beats Merab Dvalishvili
The first round saw Dvalishvili come out strong and win it with several takedowns and some heavy punches landed. Yan did not do much in the opening stanza as his opponent banked an early round on the judges’ scorecards. R1 10-9 Dvalishvili overall
In the second round, it was more of the same as Dvalishvili landed far more strikes while also mixing in his takedowns to win the second round and go up 2-0. R2 10-9 Dvalishvili, 20-18 Dvalishvili overall
The third round saw Yan finally come alive as he came out guns blazing, hurting Dvalishvili with several big punches and then a nasty strike to the body that hurt his opponent to take the round back. R3 10-9 Yan, 29-28 Dvalishvili overall
In the fourth round, Yan once again outstruck Dvalishvili while also stuffing all of his takedowns. It was a clear win on the scorecards for Yan, who tied the fight up at two rounds each. R4 10-9 Yan, 38-38 overall
The fifth round was mostly all Yan once again, as he outstruck Dvalishvili and took the last round on the scorecards to win the bout three rounds to two. R5 10-9 Yan, 48-47 Yan
All three cageside judges scored the bout with identical 48-47 scorecards for Yan.
#UFC333 Official Result: Petr Yan (48-47, 48-47, 48-47 | @PetrYanUFC) defeats Merab Dvalishvili via Unanimous Decision.
Complete Main Card Results ➡️ https://t.co/sBG9QXlpSX
Complete Scorecards ➡️ https://t.co/nYKFdAE8Qipic.twitter.com/QI3CUqDKiv
— UFC News (@UFCNews) October 24, 2026
What’s Next for Petr Yan After UFC 333?
After beating Dvalishvili in their trilogy bout, Yan will likely next fight Sean O’Malley in a rematch between the two that is nearly five years in the making.
Song Yadong is also a top contender in the weight class, but Yan has already beaten him in the past. O’Malley, though, beat Yan in a controversial split-decision win in October 2022. In 2027, it looks like these two long-time rivals will meet for a second time, this time with the bantamweight belt on the line.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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