UFC 322 has ended, and fans now look toward the promotion’s next pay-per-view event, UFC 323 in Las Vegas. The organization delivered strong matchups in New York City, where Madison Square Garden hosted its twelfth numbered event of the year. Islam Makhachev and Valentina Shevchenko earned headline wins, while Michael Morales, Carlos Prates, and Benoit Saint-Denis claimed important victories. The aftermath of the November 15 card still fuels discussion, but attention will soon shift toward the next PPV and the title pictures at welterweight, women’s flyweight, bantamweight, and flyweight.
Dvalishvili targets historic title defense against Yan
UFC 323 takes place at T-Mobile Arena on December 6, with Merab Dvalishvili set to defend the bantamweight championship against Petr Yan. The bout serves as a rematch of their March 2023 meeting, which Dvalishvili won by decision. He later defeated Henry Cejudo before beating Sean O’Malley at Noche UFC 2: UFC 306 to claim the bantamweight title. He defended the belt against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311, O’Malley at UFC 316, and Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320. A win at UFC 323 would make him the first UFC champion to defend a title four times in one calendar year. Yan enters the fight with momentum after victories over Song Yadong, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Marcus McGhee.
Pantoja and Van meet in a high-pressure co-main event
Alexandre Pantoja defends the flyweight championship against Joshua Van in the co-main event. Pantoja won the title by beating Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 and defended against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, Kai Asakura, and Kai Kara-France. Van arrives with five straight wins and an 8-1 record inside the Octagon. His 2025 campaign includes a decision win over Rei Tsuruya at UFC 313, a highlight finish of Bruno Silva at UFC 316, and a major upset of top-ranked Royval at UFC 317.
Big names look to shape the night before the title fights
Several notable contenders aim to deliver big moments on the UFC 323 main card before Dvalishvili and Pantoja defend their titles. Brandon Moreno faces Tatsuro Taira after losing the flyweight title to Pantoja and dropping a narrow decision to Royval. Moreno regained momentum with wins over Amir Albazi and Steve Erceg. Taira suffered his first career defeat in a split decision against Royval but responded with a submission win over Hyun-sung Park in August. Henry Cejudo also appears on the card when he meets Payton Talbott. Cejudo once held titles at flyweight and bantamweight but has lost all three fights since leaving retirement, including a technical decision defeat to Song Yadong in February. Talbott recovered from his first professional loss with a decision win over Felipe Lima at UFC 317.
The main card opens with former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz against Bogdan Guskov. Blachowicz holds a 1-3-1 record since losing the light heavyweight title to Glover Teixeira at UFC 267. He returned after nearly two years away and dropped a decision to Carlos Ulberg in March. Guskov has won four straight since losing his UFC debut and recently knocked out Nikita Krylov at UFC Abu Dhabi in July. These matchups earned main card status ahead of fighters like Marvin Vettori, Maycee Barber, and Edson Barboza, who appear on the preliminary card.
Full UFC 323 lineup as scheduled
Main Card:
Bantamweight Championship: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan
Flyweight Championship: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van
Flyweight: Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira
Bantamweight: Henry Cejudo vs. Payton Talbott
Light Heavyweight: Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov
Preliminary Card (Order TBA):
Featherweight: Muhammad Naimov vs. Mairon Santos
Middleweight: Marvin Vettori vs. Brunno Ferreira
Women’s Flyweight: Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva
Lightweight: Edson Barboza vs. Jalin Turner
Light Heavyweight: Iwo Baraniewski vs. İbo Aslan
Lightweight: Grant Dawson vs. Manuel Torres
Lightweight: Terrance McKinney vs. Chris Duncan
Middleweight: Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trocoli
Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Fares Ziam
