UFC 323: 2025 is the year of Merab Dvalishvili
Michael Bolton
With his fourth title defence of the year this weekend at UFC 323, Merab Dvalishvili is on course to be the fighter of the year.
The bantamweight champion defends his belt against Petr Yan, whom he dominated in 2023.
The Georgian fighter has gone from strength to strength this year, with title defences over Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O'Malley, and Cory Sandhagen.
His wrestling skills and cardio strength make him too much for his opponents to handle, and his activity makes fans appreciate his dominance.
If he were to win on Saturday in Las Vegas, he would become the first fighter to defend his belt four times in one year in the UFC.
However, it will not be an easy task, with Yan having a new lease of life in his last fights.
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Graphic|: Sofascore.[/caption]
The Russian fighter comes into Saturday's fight on a three-fight win streak and is arguably the best boxer in the sport.
If he can somehow stop the wrestling of Dvalishvili, he would have the power and boxing advantage. As Yan knows from their first fight, that is a lot easier said than done, with Dvalishvili attempting a record number of takedowns.
In the co-main event of UFC 323, another dominant champion is Alexandre Pantoja ,who defends his flyweight title against Joshua Van.
This will be Pantoja's fifth title defence, and second this year, with his last victory a submission win over Kai-Kara France in June.
Standing across from him on Saturday is Van, whose rise has been one of the stories of the year.
A win over Brandon Royval at UFC 317 on short notice gave him his title shot in an entertaining three-round brawl.
Should Van win, he would become the second-youngest champion in UFC history, with Jon Jones the youngest champion in history.
If Van can keep the fight standing, his power and speed could give him a route to victory. However, Pantoja's all-around game is likely to be too much.
Main Card
Elsewhere on the main card of UFC 323, Brandon Moreno takes on Tasturo Taira, with the winner possibly in line for a title shot.
Having lost to Pantoja twice, Moreno is in a difficult position. A two-time champion who is always entertaining, he will likely need a statement-type victory to get another shot.
Having defeated Steve Erceg and Amir Albazi, taking out another contender would do Moreno no harm in getting back to the top
For Taira, this would be the biggest win of his career and could earn him a title shot.
Elsewhere, Henry Cejudo will call time on his career when he faces Payton Talbett.
The two-weight world champion will go down as one of the best fighters of all time, and raised the profile of the lower weight classes at a time when they were overlooked.
