Petr Yan’s second title reign may have convinced Dana White to give him a home fight.

The bantamweight champion made it back-to-back wins over Merab Dvalishvili to close out their trilogy at Saturday’s UFC 333 event.

10 months after taking the title from his Georgian rival, Yan beat Dvalishvili again via unanimous decision inside Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena.

There was plenty of Russian support for ‘No Mercy’ in the Middle East, and he could be set for even more if the promotion makes a controversial return to his home country in 2027.

How do you think a rematch between Petr Yan and Sean O’Malley plays out?

Dana White says the UFC ‘should’ talk about staging an event in Russia after Petr Yan’s win

The UFC has staged three events in Russia to date, taking the Octagon to Moscow’s Olimpiyskiy Arena in September 2018, Saint Petersburg’s Yubileyny Sports Palace in April 2019, and Moscow’s CSKA Arena in November 2019.

While the home of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and more top stars looked set for a regular place on the UFC calendar, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 stopped sporting organizations from hosting events there.

While most have maintained that stance, it sounds like Dana White is considering dropping it after being questioned about a Russia card during Saturday’s press conference following UFC 333.

 “There hasn’t been (any talks), no,” White said when asked if the UFC is considering staging another event in Russia.

“But it’s a good question. We have not talked about doing an event in Russia. But yeah, we probably should,” he added.

Real American Freestyle recently made headlines by hosting an event in Russia. The wrestling organization staged matches at the Arena Mytishchi in late September.

There was a late venue change after a report revealed that RAF Moscow ‘likely violated’ sanctions put on Russia due to the original decision to stage it at the VTB Arena, which is owned and named after VTB Bank, which is part-owned by the government.

Fox Nation holds the broadcasting rights for RAF events but opted not to air the card in Russia.