UFC 323 fight week continues. What began in January of 2019 as what was originally a five-year journey on ESPN is about to wrap up. Saturday’s event at T-Mobile Arena in Enterprise, NV serves as the final premium live event for the UFC to air and stream on the Disney-owned platform.
After a November schedule that saw the UFC travel to Qatar for the first time ever, the promotion is staying home for the holidays in the year’s final month. Next weekend’s UFC Fight Night, UFC Vegas 112, will take place inside the nearby the UFC Apex facility.
Upon the conclusion of UFC Vegas 112 next Saturday night at the Apex, the promotion will take a 41-day winter break. After UFC 323 and UFC Vegas 112 take place, the organization will not be back in action until UFC 324 on Jan. 24. At 41 days, the upcoming hiatus will be the longest gap between cards since the 55-day pause in action caused by COVID-19 nearly six years ago.
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Live coverage of UFC 323 begins with the early prelims at 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT on Saturday night. Stateside, this phase of the card will be seen on ESPN+ and FX, while the early prelims will be seen on UFC Fight Pass worldwide. Late prelims occur at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT in an ESPN+/ FX simulcast. The five-fight main card to cap the 14-fight schedule starts at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT.
UFC 323 Main Event: UFC Bantamweight Championship: [C] Merab Dvalishvili vs. No. 3 Contender Petr Yan II
At the top of the main card, the UFC Bantamweight Championship serves as the focus of the UFC 323 main event of the evening. Incumbent champ Merab Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA, 14-2 UFC) will defend his strap for the fourth time when he meets challenger and No. 3 contender Petr Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in a rematch of a 2023 fight. This title bout is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.
In the original bout more than two and a half years ago, Merab Dvalishvili bested Petr Yan by way of unanimous decision after 25 minutes of action inside the UFC Apex facility. How will chapter two of this story play out?
Dvalishvili enters UFC 323’s main event having posted a record of 5-0 in his last five trips to the Octagon. He’s won 14 successive appearances under the UFC promotional banner, including four title fights.
Last time out, he successfully defended his bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision victory over Cory Sandhagen (18-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) on Oct. 4 during UFC 320’s co-main attraction. By the time Saturday’s main event rolls around, just 62 days will have passed between defenses of the title. Will Dvalishvili make it 15 in a row?
Meanwhile, Petr Yan comes in sporting a 3-2 record in his past five appearances. Since the original bout with Dvalishvili in March of 2023, he’s rattled off three consecutive wins.
Back on July 26, in what would prove to be the final UFC Fight Night on the ABC Television Network, he secured a unanimous decision win against Marcus McGhee (10-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) after 15 minutes inside the Octagon inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi during that weekend’s co-main event.
Revenge is on Petr Yan’s mind ahead of the UFC 323 main event. Is he going to hear the words “…and new…” spoken by Bruce Buffer on Saturday night?
UFC 323 Co-Main Event: UFC Flyweight Championship: [C] Alexandre Pantoja vs. No. 1 Contender Joshua Van
Immediately prior to the headliner, the co-main attraction at UFC 323 sees flyweight championship action take place. Current titlist Alexandre Pantoja (30-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) seeks a fifth defense of the belt when he collides with challenger and No. 1 contender Joshua Van (15-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC.) This fight, too, is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round.
Pantoja comes into the co-main event having gone 5-0 in his last five fights as part of his current eight-fight winning streak. Back in June, he defended the title for the fourth consecutive time with a third-round submission (rear-naked choke) against Kai Kara-France (25-12, 1 NC MMA, 8-5 UFC,) who has since gone on a hiatus from active competition.
Pantoja has been highly active since winning the belt initially in July of 2023, defending it successfully at least once a year. This is his second defense of 2025. Will he end the year with the title still in his possession?
Across the way, Joshua Van will be touching down in Enterprise with a record of 5-0 in his last five fights. On June 28, he bested Brandon Royval (17-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) by unanimous decision in UFC 317.
In so doing, he pocketed a $50,000 (USD) cash advance for the Fight of the Night Award. This is only Van’s 10th fight under the promotional banner and he’s on the cusp of a title.
UFC 323: No. 2 Contender Brandon Moreno vs. No. 5 Contender Tatsuro Taira
Also on the UFC 323 main card, more flyweight action takes place as No. 2 contender and former UFC Flyweight Champion Brandon Moreno (23-8-2 MMA, 11-5-2 UFC) squares off with Tatsuro Taira (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC.) With the flyweight championship immediately following in the co-main event, the stakes are high, with the winner taking a critical step toward a title shot in the new year.
Moreno enters the weekend with a 3-2 mark in his last five fights and has gotten his hand raised in victory twice in a row. On March 29 in Mexico City, he secured a unanimous decision win over Steve Erceg (13-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) after five rounds in that evening’s main event.
Moreno already won a flyweight championship in the past and he’s right in the thick of the title picture. Can he improve his stature with a win?
In the other corner, Taira has posted a record of 4-1 in his past five outings. This past August, he submitted Hyun Sung Park (10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) with a face crank inside the second round at the UFC Apex.
UFC 323 marks his ninth appearance and it’s also his most critical 15 minutes (or less) of action. How will he fare here?
Rest of the Card
The UFC 323 main card is rounded out by a bantamweight contest between No. 10 contender Henry Cejudo (16-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) in his final career appearance and Payton Talbott (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and a light heavyweight fight matching No. 5 contender Jan Blachowicz (29-11-1 MMA, 12-8-1 UFC) with No. 11 contender Bogdan Guskov (18-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC.)
Which main card fights are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.
