UFC 322 has wrapped up, and fans now shift focus to the promotion’s next pay-per-view event, UFC 323 in Las Vegas. The organization staged its latest show in New York City, where Madison Square Garden delivered several compelling matchups. Islam Makhachev and Valentina Shevchenko claimed headline victories, while Michael Morales, Carlos Prates, and Benoit Saint-Denis secured important wins. The fallout from the November 15 event still dominates discussions, but attention will soon move toward the next card and the title pictures at welterweight, women’s flyweight, bantamweight, and flyweight.
Dvalishvili prepares for a record defense in Las Vegas
UFC 323 takes place at T-Mobile Arena on December 6, with Merab Dvalishvili set to defend the bantamweight championship against Petr Yan. This fight serves as a rematch of their March 2023 meeting, which Dvalishvili won by decision. Dvalishvili then beat Henry Cejudo before defeating Sean O’Malley at Noche UFC 2: UFC 306 to capture the bantamweight crown. He defended the belt against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311, O’Malley at UFC 316, and Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320. A victory at UFC 323 would make him the first UFC champion to defend a title four times in one calendar year. Yan has rebounded from his loss to Dvalishvili with wins over Song Yadong, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Marcus McGhee.
Pantoja and Van collide in a high-stakes co-main event
High stakes also await in the co-main event, where Alexandre Pantoja defends the flyweight championship against Joshua Van. Pantoja claimed the title by defeating Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 and defended against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, Kai Asakura, and Kai Kara-France. Van enters the fight on a five-bout win streak and holds 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 surprise victory over then top-ranked Royval at UFC 317.
Moreno, Cejudo, and Blachowicz aim to shape the night
Several notable names hope to make statements on the UFC 323 main card before Dvalishvili and Pantoja defend their titles. Brandon Moreno meets Tatsuro Taira after losing the flyweight title to Pantoja and dropping a close decision to Royval. Moreno returned with wins over Amir Albazi and Steve Erceg. Taira suffered his first career loss in a split decision against Royval but rebounded with a submission win over Hyun-sung Park in August. Henry Cejudo also appears on the card as he faces Payton Talbott. Cejudo once held the flyweight and bantamweight titles but has lost all three bouts since ending his retirement, including a technical decision defeat to Song Yadong in February. Talbott recovered from his first professional loss with a decision victory over Felipe Lima at UFC 317.
The main card opens with former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz facing 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 this past 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 placement ahead of fighters such as Marvin Vettori, Maycee Barber, and Edson Barboza, who are expected to appear on the preliminary card.
Full UFC 323 lineup as currently 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
