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Dana White says it would be 'tough to say no' to Petr Yan as the greatest bantamweight ever

Yan kept the UFC bantamweight title with a unanimous decision over Merab Dvalishvili in their trilogy fight at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published · AI-assisted reporting
White on Petr Yan, UFC 333
Original graphic: Combat Sports UK

It would be hard to argue against Petr Yan as the greatest bantamweight in history, Dana White said at the UFC 333 post-fight press conference in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Asked whether Yan's win made him the greatest bantamweight ever, the UFC boss said: "Yeah, it would be tough to say no. It would be very difficult to say no."

All three judges scored the five-round fight 48-47 for Yan, who took the title from Dvalishvili at UFC 323 in December 2025 and now leads their rivalry 2-1 (read more).

At the pre-fight press conference on Thursday, White was asked whether the winner would be the best bantamweight of all time and said: "Off the top of my head, I don't know the answer to that question, but let's see how Saturday goes. But more than likely, yes." (read more)

In this story
Petr YanMerab Dvalishvili
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About this report

Reported by the Combat Sports UK desk. Times are UK and Irish time, and we update the report when the facts change. How we work.