The UFC’s official account didn’t bother with subtlety after the UFC 333 main event. “The last word 🤫” it wrote on X, announcing that Petr Yan had beaten Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision to retain the bantamweight title. By the next morning the talk had shifted from scorecards to history. MMA Sucka reported that UFC CEO Dana White made a big statement on Yan’s GOAT status after the win. That framing is all the available reporting gives on White’s remarks, so I won’t put any words in his mouth beyond it.
The cards were close. Championship Rounds posted the result as 48-47 on all three, which means every judge gave Dvalishvili two rounds. Nobody reached for a 10-8 in a five-round title fight between two elite bantamweights, and I’d like that noted for the record. Not everyone agreed with the outcome. Ilia Topuria was caught on video reacting to the decision: “48-47 Yan? Nooo. What are you saying?” UFCStats also posted a comparison of Yan’s work in Rounds 1 and 2 against Rounds 3, 4 and 5, which is exactly where the scoring argument is going to live this week.
The GOAT case starts with the résumé. Yan is 21-5, sits No. 1 at bantamweight in the Knockout Daily rankings, and was No. 4 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings as of Sept. 22. He’s a two-time UFC bantamweight champion, a former interim champ and a former ACB titleholder. Redemption is a habit with him, too. His first pro loss came by split decision to Magomed Magomedov in March 2016, and he beat Magomedov by unanimous decision in the April 2017 rematch to take the ACB belt.
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Then there’s who he just beat. Dvalishvili, now 21-6 and No. 2 in our rankings, is widely considered one of the best bantamweights ever. He put together a 14-fight UFC win streak, fourth longest in company history, with wins over José Aldo, Cejudo, Sean O’Malley and Yan himself. His 124 successful takedowns are the most in UFC history. Holding the belt against that kind of pressure wrestler for 25 minutes is the strongest argument Yan’s camp at Archangel Michael Club could ask for.
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No next opponent has been announced. For now the lasting image from the night is a photo Championship Rounds shared of Yan and Alexander Volkanovski posing together after both men won on the card, two champions who know a thing or two about getting the last word.
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