Merab Dvalishvili plans to beat Islam Makhachev as both close in on passing GOAT contender’s UFC record

Islam Makhachev is just one win away from surpassing Anderson Silva, but Merab Dvalishvili is hot on both men’s tails.

The reigning UFC bantamweight champion returns to action Saturday in Las Vegas for a history-making title defense.

In the main event of UFC 323, Dvalishvili will face Petr Yan in a rematch. The bout will be the Georgian’s fourth defense of 2025, marking the most that a champion has ever had inside the Octagon in a single calendar year.

‘The Machine’ is no stranger to breaking records, having also become the first fighter to reach 100 takedowns in the UFC this year.

Next on his list is an accolade that another dominant UFC star is also hot in pursuit of…

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Merab Dvalishvili has his eyes on the UFC win streak record held by Anderson Silva and Islam Makhachev

When Makhachev comfortably beat Jack Della Maddalena to become welterweight king at UFC 322 in November, the UFC’s eleventh double champion extended his winning streak to 16 straight fights.

With that, the Dagestani tied all-time great Anderson Silva for the all-time record, and the ex-lightweight champ is hoping to pull clear of ‘The Spider’ in 2026.

But when it comes to cementing that record, Makhachev could have competition from the incredibly active Dvalishvili.

The Georgian star has won 14 fights in a row and will move to within one victory of the legendary duo sharing the top spot if he has his hand raised at UFC 323.

“Yeah, of course [I think about breaking the record for consecutive wins],” Dvalishvili told Stake.

“Actually, when I look now how close I am…I have a 14-fight win streak, and then God willing if everything will be good and if I fight healthy and I win the fight, I could be number two with my winning streak, and then just two more and I can beat the other one.

“But, you know, that’s of course, that’s something that I look for, but that is easy to say, it’s hard to do,” he continued.

“But that’s why I work so hard to keep continuing this great journey and to put another good record in my résumé.”

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Petr Yan plans to spoil Merab Dvalishvili’s hopes of surpassing Anderson Silva

While Dvalishvili will be hoping to cut the deficit between him and the tally achieved by Silva and Makhachev, he has a hungry Russian challenger who expects to stop him in his tracks.

Yan has long wanted revenge on Dvalishvili for their one-sided UFC Fight Night headliner in 2023, and he finally gets the chance to secure it on Saturday night.

They top a UFC 323 card that features one other title fight, with Alexandre Pantoja defending his flyweight gold against Joshua Van, who is looking to become the promotion’s second youngest champion in history.

Yan will be hoping to close out the event with an emphatic finish to dethrone the champ, but that will certainly be easier said than done.

Dvalishvili has been dropped once in his UFC career. Before becoming the victim of a memorable comeback, Marlon Moraes put ‘The Machine’ down in the first round at UFC 266 in 2021.

Yan will look to repeat that feat but also finish the job Saturday night in Las Vegas.