UFC 323: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan, Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van to headline December event

After successfully defending his bantamweight championship against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320, Merab Dvalishvili asked the UFC for a quick turnaround. Dvalishvili got his wish after UFC CEO Dana White announced Monday that the champ would defend his belt against Petr Yan in the main event of UFC 323 in Las Vegas on Dec. 6.

The fight will help Dvalishvili's other goal of setting records in the UFC, making him the first man to defend a title four times in a calendar year. In addition to Sandhagen, Dvalishvili defeated Umar Nurmagomedov in January and Sean O'Malley in June.

Yan lost to Dvalishvili by decision when the pair met in March 2023. That fight was the third consecutive loss for Yan, a stretch that started when he lost the bantamweight title to Aljamain Sterling the year prior. Yan has now won three straight fights to battle his way back into title contention.

White also announced a championship co-main event bout between flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and fast-rising contender Joshua Van.

Pantoja is riding an eight-fight winning streak, including five wins in championship bouts. In Van, he meets a fresh challenger who has stormed his way to a title shot with five consecutive victories, including two wins in June.

White also announced a pair of non-title bouts, with former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo and Payton Talbott meeting at 135 pounds, and former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz looking to snap a three-fight winless skid against Bogdan Guskov, who has won four straight.