Last night (Sat., Dec. 6, 2025), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned home to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC 323. The final pay-per-view (PPV) of 2025 (and perhaps ever?) was headlined
by two of the most dominant and underappreciated champions in the game, Merab Dvalishvili and Alexandre Pantoja. The pair of greats have quickly racked up title defenses and aimed for further greatness, but an old foe (Petr Yan) and rising young talent (Joshua Van) attempted to upend the status quo. The rest of the card was filled with familiar faces, and the night started off hot with a string of vicious finishes!
What more could anyone ask for? Let’s take a look back over the best performances and techniques of the evening:
Revenge Of Petr Yan
Petr Yan put on the performance of a lifetime to dethrone Merab Dvalishvili and even up the scorecards.
When Yan charged to the center of the Octagon to start the contest, it was clear he would not allow a repeat of the first fight. Right away, he was sticking hard jabs up the center, spearing Dvalishvili’s head as the Georgian swung wide. He denied Dvalishvili’s early takedown attempts and then cracked him with a hard right hand midway through the round, setting the tone.
Yan only built on this success. He targeted the body, timed his own takedowns, and turned Dvalishvili’s pace against him with punishing offense. Dvalishvili’s face was smashed after two rounds, and all the damage certainly affected Dvalishvili’s ability to fight well at his usual pace. As he slowed, Yan found more and more success even as fatigue set in for him as well.
He left no room for doubt, battering the great champion en route to the upset win. A trilogy fight will be necessary given the dominance of both fights, and I cannot wait to see how Dvalishvili adjusts after giving Yan his chance to do the same.
A Freak Accident In A World Title Fight
Man … Joshua Van defeated Alexandre Pantoja by getting kicked in the head.
The fight was just getting started. Pantoja clinched once, and both men fired some shots in the close range chaos. Then, Van took an ankle to the noggin, and he countered by elevating the caught leg and dumping Pantoja to the canvas. Pantoja posted out an arm to break his fall, and his arm snapped in half. I’m sick to my stomach, and not just because the UFC replayed the horrible bone break a dozen times in five minutes.
Posting on the way down is something that every rookie grappler and couch potato alike will eagerly tell you is a horrible decision that you should never make. Yet, you’ll see it happen half-a-dozen times per UFC event, because the alternative is landing on your face. It’s not an actual rule of martial arts, because it’s a non-issue 99 times out of 1o0.
Pantoja didn’t make a real mistake — he just rolled double zero on the biggest stage.
That’s a brutal way for a stellar title reign to end. Pantoja is not a young man, and his odds of a speedy recovery back to his current peak are not probably not great. Still, I have no issues with Van celebrating his win despite the circumstances. His life just changed, and he earned his biggest paycheck yet in a mere 26 seconds without taking any damage. He should be happy!
A Taira Title Shot?
Tatsuro Taira just became the first man to finish former UFC champion Brandon Moreno.
After a first round spent mostly in the stalemate of a reverse triangle choke, Taira showed off his quickness in the second. He was very fluid on his feet, and though it took a couple tries to get through Moreno’s down-block, he eventually secured the body lock and landed a big slam. Once in top position, his ground mastery was obvious. He floated around multiple Moreno defenses and took the back.
Usually, Taira is a submission guy. This time, he focused on hipping in and unleashing ground strikes. His heavy hip pressure pinned Moreno, and the shots piled up until the referee intervened. It was incredible work from the Japanese contender, but it must be said: this was a bad stoppage.
Moreno is a former champion and entered this fight on the cusp of another title shot. We’re talking about one of the grittiest, most durable men on the roster in a hugely important fight, not some random unranked “Prelim” fight between green youngsters. He deserves the opportunity to work through bad positions. Moreno was still conscious and still moving, even if he was struggling mightily to create any motion.
Instead, Moreno walked away fairly undamaged yet miles removed from the title. It’s a career-changing moment, and who knows how long he’ll have to work to recover his lost status?
A Savage Retirement
Payton Talbott beat the absolute crap out of Henry Cejudo and seemed to have a great time doing it.
I lost count of how many Talbott connections straight to the Cejudo chin had me wincing in sympathy. In the opening minute, a laser 1-2 jacked Cejudo’s jaw, and things didn’t get better. Talbott landed an outrageous amount of power punches and quite a few clean knees straight to the chin. He only dropped Cejudo once, but he landed about a dozen knockout-worthy blows.
And that’s without considering the body shots that nearly crumbled Cejudo on multiple occasions.
Truthfully, the striking went about how I expected. Cejudo landed some hard calf kicks and a few long power shots, but he was mostly pummeled relentlessly. I cannot say that I predicted Talbott would hit two takedowns on the former Olympic gold medalist, let alone use his signature inside trip against him! Cejudo may not be at his best anymore, but this was still an astounding display of championship potential from the ever-improving young talent.
As for Cejudo, he absolutely went out on his shield. I’ve never been a big fan of “Triple C,” but he pushed himself to the absolute limit and turned down many chances to fold — it’s impossible not to respect the audacity and grit and sheer competitive nature of Henry Cejudo.
Please Retire, Jan
Jan Blachowicz is the man. The nearly 43-year-old Polish veteran went after Bogdan Guskov, a fearsome knockout artist with a piston of a right hand. Despite double shoulder surgery and plenty more wear and tear, Blachowicz spent a large portion of the fight landing jabs and calf kicks while walking down the scary puncher. If he stuck to just those two strikes, he might’ve won outright!
Unfortunately, Blachowicz got a little too confident early in round two. He tried to follow up hard on a double jab and got clocked by a fast right while out of position. He spent the rest of the round getting mangled with elbows from within his guard, as he’s never been great from his back. It was a clear 10-8 round for Guskov, and yet Blachowicz was still able to battle back and win the third, even scoring a late knockdown of his own.
Though Jan Blachowicz won the crowd, a draw was the correct call.
Regardless: it’s over. Blachowicz is looking a lot slower, and his footwork goes out the window the second he tries to punch in combination. He’s still good enough to win a fight or two, but that’s mostly because Light Heavyweight is terrible. If he sticks around much longer, he’s going to get hurt badly.
I’d much rather see the Polish champion walk away after a gritty and respectable draw than a bad knockout loss.
El Loco Rises
Manuel Torres, an all-action fighter who never leaves the first round, showed real patience in the opening exchanges of his fight versus grappling ace Grant Dawson. He hung back early, getting a read on his opponent before finally unleashing the usual whirlwind of violence.
Dawson wrestles more like an elite Dagestani athlete than almost any other American fighter, and it was clear he didn’t at all want to exchange with Torres. Rather than work his way forward with feints, pressure, and combinations, he opted to fire naked kicks, swing wide overhands, and shoot from too far. There’s a certain freedom top-notch wrestlers enjoy on the feet, as they’re able to throw full power shots without fear of getting put on their back as a result.
They are, however, still at risk of getting countered. After letting a few overhands whiff by, Torres answered with a five-punch counter combination. The first three blows mostly missed, but the fourth shot was a left uppercut that smashed right into Dawson’s ducking face. In an instant, Dawson was on the floor in a heap, getting hammer fisted into oblivion.
Torres secured the best win of his career and a UFC ranking in less than half a round.
Dumb Match, Fun Finish
I’ll confess that I hated this matchup from the start.
Chris Duncan entered his fight versus Terrance McKinney riding a really solid three-fight win streak, and I rate his recent win over Mateusz Rebecki higher than anything McKinney has done. He probably should have gotten his shot versus a ranked opponent, and instead, he was forced to face a super dangerous — if horribly flawed — man below him? It didn’t make sense.
The fight itself could only go one of two ways, as McKinney either finds the early finish with his trademark blitz or falls apart a minute later. In this case, Duncan took a few on the chin but never hit the canvas, then he started firing back and clipping McKinney between his attacks. Then, Duncan blasted him with an elbow, and McKinney crumbled. The fight was over even if the ref didn’t recognize it, eventually resulting in an anaconda submission.
Duncan has now won four straight and six of seven overall in the UFC — give him his step up in competition. As for McKinney, he’s not developing at all. Being a monster athlete who sprints from the first bell alone is not enough. He’s a lot of fun and a true kill-or-be-killed fighter, so just book him in fun fights.
Fares Ziam, Elite Lightweight
For the third time in a row, I am begging UFC and fight fans alike to recognize just how good Fares Ziam has become. When the French talent debuted in the Octagon, he was physically underdeveloped at 22 years of age. He was already technically skilled, but he got muscled around by stronger athletes. Six years later, that is very much not the case. In fact, he manhandled Nazim Sadykhov in the clinch last night, repeatedly throwing him to the floor with high-crotch takedowns before smashing him to bits with elbows.
Sadykhov is a legitimate talent in his own right, but I’m not sure he landed a single significant shot in 10 minutes of combat.
It’s taking way too long to move on from Ziam’s early struggles in the Octagon. Sure, he was a little boring at the beginning, and he lost a couple fights. In his last three wins, however, he’s shown that his physicality now matches his skill, allowing him to really increase the aggression and damage. He’s still smart and measured, but he’s trying to unleash the hurt at every opportunity.
Now riding a six-fight win streak, Ziam is legitimately very skilled in every facet of the game. It’s time for a Top 10 opponent, and I would favor him over many of them.
Welcome Back Jalin Turner
Jalin Turner’s retirement lasted less than a year, and we should be grateful.
I understand the frustrations of “The Tarantula.” In 2023, he lost two split-decisions that very well could have gone his way. Then, he nearly kills Bobby Green due to an incompetent referee, holds back against Renato Moicano as a result, and pays for it with another loss. The quick tap to a random triangle choke from Ignacio Bahamondes was evidence of a burnt out athlete no longer at his best, prompting Turner to walk away.
Fortunately, a little time on the sidelines seems to have worked wonders in resetting Turner, who is still just 30 years old. Opposite the veteran Edson Barboza, Turner looked calm and collected as he methodically (yet very quickly) broke down the Muay Thai ace. He timed an early elbow off Barboza’s head movement beautifully, slicing open Barboza and turning his face into a bloody mask. Having chipped his armor, Turner applied more pressure, picking his shots with extended combinations around the guard to continually hurt and soon finish the Brazilian.
Turner has been inside the Lightweight Top 10 before, and if he continues to perform like this, he can regain — exceed? — those previous heights.
Additional Thoughts
- Iwo Baraniewski defeats Ibo Aslan via first-round knockout (highlights): There’s nothing to analyze here — this was a straight-up bar fight! A brawl! A barnburner! Baraniewski and Aslan stood in front of each other and threw huge bombs until somebody fell down … multiple times! More often than not, however, it was Baraniewski getting the better of the exchanges and putting his foe to the floor. Honestly, both of their hands were way out of position the whole time, so it was still up in the air until the final exchange, which saw a counter right hand sit Aslan down for a third time, earning the Polish scrapper a very fun debut win.
- Mansur Abdul-Malik defeats Antonio Trocoli via first-round guillotine (highlights): The Abdul-Malik hype train got back on the tracks in just 69 seconds. After his uneventful decision win (turned “No Contest”) over Cody Brundage last time out, a quick finish was exactly what the doctor ordered for Abdul-Malik. In this bout, he was easily able to take down his opponent in the opening seconds. When Trocoli tried to wrestle back to his feet, Abdul-Malik wrapped his neck with a standing guillotine, producing a very quick tap. Now 3-0 (1) inside the Octagon, expect a step up for Abdul-Malik in his next appearance.
- Mairon Santos defeats Muhammad Naimov via third-round knockout (highlights): Mairon Santos is a really impressive young talent. It’s a shame that the Ultimate Fighter (TUF) champion missed weight here, but even so, he just took out another seasoned and skilled UFC fighter at just 25 years of age. He had little trouble avoiding the takedowns of his opponent, allowing Santos to show off his composed and powerful kickboxing. He should probably just move to Lightweight given his age and size, but the Brazilian knockout artist definitely has a high ceiling if he can figure out the weight.
