Petr Yan's next fight has not been announced. The UFC bantamweight champion retained his title with a unanimous decision over Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on 24 October, and the question now is who gets the next shot. Song Yadong, ranked No. 2 in our UFC bantamweight rankings, is the name most often mentioned, but no bout has been confirmed by the UFC.
How Yan won the trilogy
All three judges scored the fight 48-47 for Yan, according to theScore and Yahoo Sports. Dvalishvili took the first two rounds on all three scorecards, and Yan won rounds three to five. theScore reported that Dvalishvili attempted 56 takedowns, a new UFC record for a single fight, but completed only five. Yan stuffed the rest and landed damaging shots to the head and body as the fight went on.
It was Yan's first title defense of his second reign, and theScore described it as the fifth win in a row for the champion. Our database lists his record at 21-5-0. Dvalishvili drops to 21-6-0, and theScore noted that it is the first time in his career he has lost two fights in a row.
Yan's record against Dvalishvili
Yan now leads the series 2-1. He also won the second fight, at UFC 323 on 6 December 2025, by decision over five rounds, which means Dvalishvili took the first meeting. Both of the last two fights went the full five rounds and were decided on the scorecards.
Yan is also ranked No. 4 in our men's pound-for-pound list, while Dvalishvili sits at No. 9.
Who is in line for the bantamweight title
Our rankings as of 27 October put Dvalishvili at No. 1 and Song Yadong at No. 2 in the UFC bantamweight division. Dvalishvili has just lost twice in a row to the champion, so whether he would get a fourth fight is an open question. Nothing has been reported on that.
Song, 24-9-1 with one no contest, has won his last two fights. He stopped Umar Nurmagomedov in the second round on 29 August 2026 and submitted Deiveson Figueiredo in the second round on 30 May 2026. Before that, he lost a decision to Sean O'Malley at UFC 324 in January. According to Yahoo Sports, Song was at the UFC 333 broadcast, and Daniel Cormier pointed to him as next in line during the post-fight interview.
Yahoo Sports also lists O'Malley as a possible challenger and says he has questioned whether Yan wants a rematch. The page shows what O'Malley said only as a headline, so we do not report his words here.
What has been said and what is not announced
No next opponent for Yan has been announced. The articles we read from theScore and Yahoo Sports contain no statement from Yan about who he wants next, and the UFC has not confirmed a date or a card. Any pairing with Song, Dvalishvili or O'Malley is, for now, talk and not a booking.
The UFC calendar is filling up around the division. theScore lists Joshua Van defending his flyweight title against Manel Kape in the main event of UFC 336 in Toronto, and an interim title fight between Prates and Morales is also on the schedule. Whether the bantamweight title fight lands on a card like that is not known.
We will update this page when the UFC announces Yan's next bout.
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