UFC 323 is upon us. After seven years, it’s finally time to say goodbye to The Worldwide Leader in Sports, as Saturday’s card is the final pay-per-view event in the current ESPN era. Next week’s show, UFC Vegas 112, will be the final UFC event for the Disney-owned cabler before Dana White and company move their schedule of events to Paramount Plus for 2026 through 2032.
As far as this week’s action is concerned, coverage begins at 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT on ESPN+, FX, and UFC Fight Pass with the early prelims. Late prelims follow at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on ESPN+ and FX before moving to the final PPV main card of the year at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT.
If there are no 11th-hour adjustments needed to be made to the itinerary, the final version of UFC 323 features a slate of 14 fights from the No. 1 MMA promotion on earth.
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UFC 323 Featured Prelim: No. 13 Contender Grant Dawson vs. Manuel Torres
At the top of the bill for the UFC 323 undercard on Saturday night, you’ll be seeing a lightweight showdown matching No. 13 contender Grant Dawson (23-2-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) against Manuel Torres (16-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.
Dawson enters the UFC 323 featured prelim with a record of 4-1 in his last five fights. At present, he’s won three fights successively. Back on Jan. 18, he bested Diego Ferreira (19-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) by way of unanimous decision after three rounds during UFC 311 on Jan. 18 inside Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Grant Dawson has been out of action throughout most of 2025. On Saturday, he’ll be bookending the pay-per-view slate with an appearance in UFC 323. Can he end the year with his fourth win in a row?
Across the way, Manuel Torres enters the featured prelim this coming weekend having gone 4-1 in his own right. On March 29, he trekked to Mexico City for a first-round knockout victory over Drew Dober (28-15, 1 NC MMA, 14-11, 1 NC UFC.) In so doing, Torres pocketed the $50,000 (USD) bonus for the Performance of the Night Award.
This was Torres’ fourth post-fight bonus in his last five fights since joining the UFC. He knows how to secure the bonuses by scoring highlight-reel finishes, but does another bonus await him? Only time will tell.
UFC 323 Co-Featured Prelim: Terrance McKinney vs. Chris Duncan
Immediately beforehand, the co-featured bout on the undercard sees action taking place in the lightweight ranks when Terrance McKinney (17-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) locks horns with Chris Duncan (14-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC.)
This is a rescheduling of a canceled fight from Oct. 14, 2023. That night’s planned contest was scrubbed after Duncan couldn’t travel to the United States due to visa problems. The former will be making the walk for the 25th time as a professional in MMA after having posted a record of 3-2 in his last five fights.
He’s on a two-fight winning streak heading into this one. On June 28, he submitted Viacheslav Borshchev (8-7-1 MMA, 3-6-1 UFC) with a mounted guillotine choke inside the opening minute of the fight during UFC 317. Borshchev is currently on a three-fight losing streak in the aftermath of Nov. 15’s UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden.
In McKinney’s last four wins, he’s gotten his assignment done before the horn to end the first round of action has blared. Another first-round finish in the UFC 323 co-featured prelim will be a satisfying conclusion to 2025.
Meanwhile, Chris Duncan is sporting a 4-1 record in his last five appearances and has gotten his hand raised in victory three times in a row. On Aug. 2, he won by way of unanimous decision against Mateusz Rebecki (20-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) inside the UFC Apex.
Duncan is a surging prospect at 155. How will he fare here?
UFC 323: No. 5 Contender Maycee Barber vs. No. 9 Contender Karine Silva
Also on the UFC 323 undercard, the only all-ranked prelim happens in the women’s flyweight division. No. 5 contender Maycee Barber (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) battles No. 9 contender Karine Silva (19-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC.)
Barber will try again to make her first walk to the cage since March of 2024 on Saturday. A planned May 31 fight in UFC Vegas 107 versus Erin Blanchfield was postponed after Barber suffered a seizure backstage ahead of what was to have been her first headlining fight since joining the UFC’s active roster.
During Wednesday’s media day, she simply said of return after her marathon hiatus from competition, “I’m just expecting to go out there and do what I love. It’s been too long.”
As far as her last five fights go, Maycee Barber heads into UFC 323’s undercard having gone 5-0 in an ongoing six-fight winning streak. Back on March 9 of last year, she scored a unanimous decision victory versus Katlyn Cerminara [nee Chookagian] (18-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) after three rounds.
Now with Maycee Barber being afforded a clean bill of health, will she win her seventh consecutive bout?
In the other corner, Karine Silva has posted a record of 4-1 in her last five fights. Most recently, she returned to the win column with a unanimous decision victory against Dione Barboza (8-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in UFC 319 from Chicago.
This is a crucial fight for Silva. She’s currently seated at No. 9 in the rankings and a win over the fifth-ranked Barber could mean that she could be one victory away from firmly being in contention for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship.
Rest of the Prelims
The UFC 323 prelims are rounded out by these fights:
- a lightweight bout matching Nazim Sadykhov (11-1-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC) with Fares Ziam (17-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC,)
- a middleweight contest between No. 14 contender Marvin Vettori (19-8-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) and Brunno Ferreira (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC,)
- a lightweight fight pairing Edson Barboza (24-13 MMA, 18-13 UFC) against Jalin Turner (14-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC,)
- a light heavyweight showcase versing Ibo Aslan (14-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Iwo Baraniewski (6-0 MMA, UFC promotional debut,)
- a middleweight bout between Mansur Abdul-Malik (8-0-1 MMA, 2-0-1 UFC) and Antonio Trocoli (12-5, 1 NC MMA, 0-2 UFC,)
- and a featherweight showdown matching Muhammad Naimov (13-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) with Mairon Santos (16-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC.)
Which fight or fights on UFC 323’s undercard are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.
