Islam Makhachev Pens Message to Merab Dvalishvili After Brutal End to Title Reign At UFC 323

On Saturday’s UFC 323 pay-per-view card, Merab Dvalishvili attempted to make history by becoming the first champion to successfully defend the title four times in a calendar year. However, he was thwarted by the crisp powerhouse that is Petr Yan. After the change of guard at the UFC 323: Dvalishvili vs Yan 2 PPV event, Live from T-Mobile Arena, Islam Makhachev took notice and pitched in.

Yan exacted his revenge on Dvalishvili with a five-round dominant showcase, with trips and tricks, some slips, some TD attempts, sure standup, and so on. ‘No Mercy’ took the gold home via a UD (49-46, 49-46, 48-47). His flow state, as well as the dominant Georgian’s UFC bantamweight reign ending, caught the eye of the UFC’s pound-for-pound king.

Islam Makhachev penned a heartfelt message, holding Dvalishvili in quite high regard.

Merab, you are one of the greatest to ever step into this cage. Congratulations. Petya you deserve it #UFC323

Islam Makhachev via X (@MAKHACHEVMMA)

Cardio king Merab Dvalishvili started the fight with more activity, with short barrages of striking combinations, while Yan tried to stay peripheral and find his range. Yan struck his landing midway through the round, delivering a hard right and cutting the champ. The wrestling game was then resorted to by Dvalishvili to slow things down.

R2 onwards, Yan even remained stiff-legged and it was he who answered Dvalishvili with a fenceside takedown first. From his crisp boxing to answering the wrestling prowess of the mean ‘Machine.’ At one point, a body kick from Yan even brought an audible scream from the rival.

Round 3, Yan even punctuated a highlight reel when he spiked and slammed the champ on his head in a clinch! There were much all-around skills displayed, and having been the dominant all-around #1 P4P for a while now, Islam Makhachev saw what he liked.

Merab, you are one of the greatest to ever step into this cage. Congratulations. Petya you deserve it #UFC323

— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) December 7, 2025

Makhachev thus had some words for his victorious fellow countryman as well, who returned to the top of the UFC 135-pound mountain, four years removed from his unceremonious DQ against Aljamain Sterling, ending his first reign.

Islam Makhachev’s win streak safe after legendary reign ends at Merab Dvalishvili vs Petr Yan UFC 323 PPV

Although Islam Makhachev had complimentary things to say about Dvalishvili, he may be relieved after seeing his winning streak end at the hands of Petr Yan in Las Vegas.

With a major record close at hand, “The Machine” addressed the fact that he was getting ready to attempt a fourth successful title defence of 2025. Dvalishvili had designs to outdo Islam Makhachev as the most active ballot fighter with the longest UFC winning streak. The Dominant Dagestani currently ties with Anderson Silva [16] for the most wins, and even a nascent roll into the welterweight division hasn’t slowed him down.

After his second PPV title win over Sean O’Malley in just a year, Merab Dvalishvili had entered the exclusive 13-fight winning streak club, with the likes of Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Georges St-Pierre, and, once, even Max Holloway. He then defeated Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320: Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 and extended it to 14.

The Serra-Longo Fight Team (LV) fighter has had a legendary run, first stringing up a 10-fight winning streak, then winning the belt and defending it quite a few times. During his octagon mic-time after the loss, Dvalishvili gave props to Yan for being the ‘better’ fighter but hinted he’d e back and angling for a rematch.

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