Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to the pay-per-view (PPV) market later TONIGHT (Sat., Dec. 6, 2025), staging UFC 323 from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, marking the final PPV event
of for the promotion on ESPN+ (sorry Canada and Australia!). Headlining the event will be a Bantamweight title fight as division kingpin, Merab Dvalishvili, defends his 135-pound belt for a record-setting time against Petr Yan, while Flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja, defends his 125-pound strap against surging young contender, Joshua Van.
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UFC 323 CHEAT SHEET
What UFC event is on tonight? UFC 323: “Merab vs. Yan 2”
Who is fighting tonight at UFC 323? Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan Bantamweight title fight is the five-round main event.
What time does UFC 323? TONIGHT (Sat., Dec. 6, 2025), beginning at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Where will UFC 323 take place? T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
How can I watch UFC 323? The ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
How do I bet on UFC 323? Checkout the latest lines at FanDuel Sportsbook
Where can I get live UFC 323 updates and results? Get full UFC 323 play-by-play updates and live coverage here!
What’s Not:
If there was ever a fitting moniker in combat sports, “The Machine” fits Dvalishvili like a glove. Merab will attempt to defend his 135-pound title for the fourth time this year, which would be a first for the promotion. The Georgian won the strap back in Sept. 2024, defeating Sean O’Malley, then defended it in January against Umar Nurmagomedov, before defeating O’Malley again four months later. Soon thereafter, he defeated Cory Sandhagen in Oct. 2025. Once the dust settles in his fight against Yan, it will have been a total of five title fights in the span of 13 months — an absolutely ridiculous (and unhealthy) run. Against Yan, Dvalishvili will see a familiar foe since he defeated him via unanimous decision two years ago. That’s right, “The Machine” is resorting to rematches because he has been that dominant throughout his UFC run, which saw him start out with two straight defeats, only to rattle off 14 straight wins over the last seven years. If he gets through Yan, he will hope to face some new blood since he’s already defeated four of the Top 5 fighters in the division.
Speaking of Yan, since losing to Merab in March 2023, the dynamic Russian striker has only competed three times, which shows you just how impressive the champion’s current run and willingness to fight so often really is. As for “No Mercy,” since coming up short to Dvalishvili, he did win the aforementioned three fights, which earned him the chance to exact revenge on his foe. Dvalishvili, meanwhile, has the chance to put him in the rear-view mirror for good, but Yan is looking to show that he has made the improvements to get the job done (and not just once). But, that will be easier said than done because aside from fighting so often, Dvalishvili has been dominant throughout, showing little-to-no weakness inside the cage. Where he really shines is his tenacious pace and suffocating grappling skills. Yan may be a better striker, but “The Machine” isn’t a scrub on the feet. If we are predicting what will happen, then we all know the champ will go to his bread-and-butter, his wrestling, to get the job done.
Original Card Vs. Actual Card/Injuries
There weren’t any major changes or cancelations for this event. That said, the only minor hiccup came during the official weigh ins after Brunno Ferreira came in three pounds over the Middleweight non-title fight limit for his fight against Marvin Vettori. He will now be docked 20 percent of his purse and the fight will take place at Catchweight.
New Blood:
Iwo Baraniewski will make his Octagon debut opposite Ibo Aslan at Light Heavyweight. Iwo is undefeated (6-0), winning all of his fights in the first round — two via submission and four via knockout. Now, the Polish bruiser has the chance to show out on the biggest stage of them all. As for Aslan, he needs a win here — or at least an impressive performance in defeat — to avoid losing his third straight.
How The ‘Prelims’ Look:
Headlining the undercard will be a 155-pound bout between Grant Dawson vs. Manuel Torres. Dawson is on a three-fight win streak and is 11-1-1 overall inside the Octagon. Another win or two and he could be staring at a Top 10 spot. He will attempt to get closer to that when he faces Torres, who is 4-1 since making his UFC debut straight out of Contender Series.
In an interesting Lightweight bout, Terrance McKinney — winner of two straight fights via first round knockout — will face off against Chris Duncan, who has won his last three fights. McKinney has been up and down throughout his career, but he is trending upward at the moment having won four of his last five fights. As for Duncan, he is 5-1 under UFC’s banner and a win over McKinney would be huge for his career trajectory.
Maycee Barber has won her last six fights inside the Octagon, but you can’t help but to feel that whatever hype she’s had is now gone. Indeed, she hasn’t stepped foot inside the Octagon since March 2024 because of several health complications that have sidelined her. And the fight game waits for no one, with the women’s Strawweight division moving on during her hiatus. That said, she is still ranked No. 5, so she has a chance to remind everyone that she is still a major threat to the title when she battles it out against Karine Silva, who is currently ranked No. 9 and is 5-1 overall under UFC’s banner.
In addition, one of the most intriguing 155-pound bouts scheduled for the undercard is a bout between Nazim Sadykhov vs. Fares Ziam. Sadykhov is 4-0-1 so far under UFC’s banner and is unbeaten since 2019. As for Ziam, he has quietly won his last five fights inside the Octagon, and a sixth straight fight could get him close to a ranking spot.
Antonio Trocoli’s UFC career, meanwhile, has gotten off to a rough start.
After coming in with plenty of hype in mid 2024, it has not been justified because he lost his first two contests against Sharabutdin Magomedov via third round knockout, then against Tresean Gore a few months later via first round submission (see it again here). This will be his first fight in 2025, so he needs to win here if he wants to remain on UFC’s roster because kicking off your UFC career with three straight losses will likely earn you a one-way ticket out of the promotion. He has a tough task ahead of him, too, in the form of undefeated combatant (8-0-1, 2-0-1 UFC), Mansur Abdul-Malik, who is an absolutely terrifying unit.
In a battle of surging veterans Edson Barboza and Jalin Turner will collide in a Lightweight bout to see who can get back on track. Barboza has lost two straight with his last win coming in Oct. 2023. The hard-hitting Brazilian is 2-4 in his last six outings, so he wants to bounce back in impressive fashion in order to keep his spot on the roster. As for Turner, he is also on a two-fight skid and has lost four of his last five fights.
Kicking off the card will be a Muhammad Naimov taking on Mairon Santos in a catchweight fight of 148 pounds. Naimov is currently on a two-fight win streak and is 5-1 overall inside the Octagon. As for Santos, he has won all three of his UFC fights and was last seen defeating Sodiq Yusuff earlier this year.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
Since making his return from retirement in May 2023, Henry Cejudo has been unable to earn a trip back to the winner’s circle, as he has lost his last three fights to Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili and Song Yadong. That said, it’s safe to say “Triple C” will likely not ever fight for another UFC world title. His next opportunity to get a win will come against Payton Talbott, who is coming off a win over Felipe Lima, bringing his UFC record to 4-1 in his young UFC career, so he has a chance to lock down the biggest win of his combat career. For Cejudo, a win is a win regardless of who it comes against but if he can defeat a young, up-and-coming contender it will show everyone that he still has something left in the tank. If not, he will likely retire…or not.
Interest Level: 7.5/10
In the co-main event of the evening, Alexandre Pantoja will attempt to secure his fifth straight title defense. That’s right, Pantoja has defended his belt four times since winning it off Brandon Moreno in 2023. And he’s done it quietly because if we are being real, Pantoja simply isn’t a name that draws headlines or attracts views. Talented, yes, but he doesn’t have that “it” factor that the promotion can get behind. But he doesn’t seem to care about all of that as he is all about business. He is out to secure his ninth overall straight win when he goes head up against Joshua Van, the surging contender who will get his first-ever chance to fight for the strap. Van is currently on a five-fight win streak and is 8-1 overall inside the Octagon. He has a chance to really put himself on the map with a win over Pantoja, but he will have to be on his “A” game if he wants to get it done.
Former UFC Flyweight champion, Brandon Moreno, is eying his first three-fight win streak since 2020 when he faces Tatsuro Taira in main card action. Moreno still has high hopes of fighting for the strap once again, and he does have the ability and opportunity to do so since he is ranked No. 2 and on a nice little run. As for Taira, the Japanese-born fighter suffered the first loss of his career against Brandon Royval via split-decision, though he did bounce back nicely with a win over Hyun Sung Park earlier this year. Overall, he has a record of 17-1, making him one of the best 125-pound fighters in the world. If he can get a win over Moreno, he will insert his name firmly in the title fight discussion.
Former Light Heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz, has seen better days inside the Octagon. After dropping his title to Glover Teixeira in 2021 he has collected a record of 1-2-1, and has lost his last two bouts to Carlos Ulberg and Alex Pereira. While those two defeats are nothing to hang your head low over, he still needs to get back on track. He will look to avoid his third straight defeat when he takes on Bogdan Guskov, who has won four straight fights inside the Octagon after dropping his promotional debut fight against Volkan Oezdemir. If he can take out the Polish bruiser standing in front of him come fight night, a spot in the Top 10 is all but certain.
Enjoy the fights!
Full UFC 323 Fight Card:
UFC 323 PPV Main Event:
- 135 lbs.: UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan 2
UFC 323 PPV Main Card on ESPN+ PPV (10 p.m. ET):
- 125 lbs.: UFC Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van
- 125 lbs.: Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira
- 135 lbs.: Henry Cejudo vs. Payton Talbott
- 205 lbs.: Jan Błachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov
UFC 323 ‘Prelims’ Card On ESPN2, ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):
- 155 lbs.: Grant Dawson vs. Manuel Torres
- 155 lbs.: Chris Duncan vs. Terrance McKinney
- 125 lbs.: Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva
- 155 lbs.: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Fares Ziam
UFC 323 Early ‘Prelims’ Card On ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET):
- 185 lbs.: Marvin Vettori vs. Brunno Ferreira
- 155 lbs.: Edson Barboza vs. Jalin Turner
- 145 lbs.: Muhammad Naimov vs. Mairon Santos
- 205 lbs.: Ibo Aslan vs. Iwo Baraniewski
- 185 lbs.: Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trocoli
- 145 lbs.: Muhammad Naimov vs. Mairon Santos
*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*
LIVE! Stream UFC 323 On ESPN+
Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!
