Instead, Van vs. Taira has been shifted to UFC 328 the following month, pairing it up with a middleweight title fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland.

News of Van vs. Taira falling off UFC 327 was first reported by MMA Fighting on Saturday. During Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 115 broadcast, promotion officials announced that the bout had been moved to the New Jersey card the following month.

UFC 328 takes place on May 9, 2026 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

The nature of the injury, which was reportedly suffered by Van, has not been disclosed. Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa was subsequently announced as the co-main event for UFC 327, which takes place at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Jiri Prochazka vs. Carlos Ulberg headlines.

Van (16-2) is looking to make the first defense of his flyweight title, which he won back in December when then-champ Alexandre Pantoja went down early due to injury in their title fight. Japan’s Taira (18-1), meanwhile, has been in contention for a while now, having posted an 8-1 record in the UFC’s flyweight division since joining the promotion in 2022.

Taira has earned four post-fight bonuses since his arrival in the UFC.

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Van will face off against Tatsuro Taira at UFC 327 on April 11, 2026 in Miami, Florida. The flyweight champ announced the news himself during the UFC Houston Fan Q&A, after the bout had been the subject of rumors from the likes of Krazy Kev MMA on social media.

Van claimed flyweight gold during a bizarre scene at UFC 323, when reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja injured his arm early in their co-main event fight. While not the way anyone wanted to see the bout end, it did cap off an incredible year for Van, who also notched wins over Rei Tsuruya, Bruno Silva, and Brandon Royval.

Overall, the 24-year old American of Burmese descent sits on a six-fight win streak.

Japan’s Taira is 8-1 inside the octagon since arriving in the UFC in 2022. His lone loss came against Brandon Royval in late 2024, but he’s bounced back with impressive wins over Park Hyun-Sung and most recently former champ Brandon Moreno.

Taira is one of two highly-skilled Japanese UFC flyweight contenders at the moment, alongside recently returned star and former Bellator/RIZIN champ Kyoji Horiguchi.

Van vs. Taira is expected to serve as the co-main event of UFC 327 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Floria.

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Petr Yan

As Merab Dvalishvili was attempting to pull off something that had never been done, it was Petr Yan who ended up writing a piece of history. Before UFC 323, none of the two-time champions had ever regained their title after surmounting a three-fight losing streak. The man who was near the top of the pound-for-pound list in 2021 incomprehensibly threw away his belt with a stupid illegal strike. He then lost consecutive split decisions that were each a punch or two away from going his way. That skid was topped by Dvalishvili who thoroughly defeated him, blanking him on the scorecards. By that point, “No Mercy” was already two years removed from losing his belt and looked further away from it than ever. Years or specific training and game-planning for an eventual rematch with the Georgian “Machine” finally paid off on Saturday as Yan put on one of the greatest performances in a title fight by a challenger in recent memory. He beat Goliath, slayed the dragon, however you want to refer to it.

As Yan will undoubtedly skyrocket back up the pound-for-pound list, he has to know the job isn’t done yet. Yes, Umar Nurmagomedov and Sean O’Malley could slide in should they get a nice win in January. However, assuming Merab’s activity stays reasonable, those two will have to meet again.

Yan’s next fight: Merab Dvalishvili

Joshua Van

Some will refuse to count this as a legitimate win for Joshua Van, but on paper, the 24-year-old from Myanmar is your new flyweight champion. This anti-climactic ending has unfortunately thrown cold water on what has been a phenomenal year for Van. Time will tell whether Pantoja can heal and turn around in time to reasonably be Van’s next opponent. If he can, there’s no reason to not simply wait and book it again. If not, Van should be fighting Tatsuro Taira next. I understand that a lot of people will be on the Kyoji Horiguchi train, but I would prefer to have Kyoji win another fight because I don’t see a win over Tagir Ulanbekov warranting a title shot. The man who might insert himself in this conversation is Manel Kape, should he put on a standout performance against Brandon Royval this weekend.

Van’s next fight: Alexandre Pantoja if available (or Tatsuro Taira)

Tatsuro Taira

Say what will about the stoppage, Taira was dealing and looking like a million bucks. While I do believe referee Mark Smtih stopped the action a tad early, it doesn’t affect my read on the fight since I personally don’t think it impacted the outcome of the bout. Brandon Moreno grabbed a triangle in the first round and held it for almost its entirety. But Taira stayed calm, defended the submission attempt and got out of it. As soon as round 2 started, it was all Taira. After learning valuable lessons from his five-round banger with Royval last fall, the Japanese uber prospect appears to be putting it all together, which is a scary thought for the rest of the division since he’s still only 25.

With Pantoja’s timeline still unclear, I can’t tell who will be the champion by the time Taira gets his title shot, but one thing if clear in my mind: his next fight should be for a title.

Taira’s next fight: Title shot

Payton Talbott

What a way for Payton Talbott to end 2025. The man who laid an egg in January as a -1000 betting favourite against Raoni Barcelos outwrestled Henry Cejudo. After surrendering eight takedowns to Barcelos earlier this year, Talbott’s stock took a massive hit. So much so that he was the underdog coming into his next fight against Felipe Lima. He already looked a lot improved in that win in June and even more so after putting a beating on the former double champion Cejudo. A rocky start to the year, but it now feels like we can strap a rocket to the 27-year-old who has shown massive improvements in such a small time frame.

The UFC seems to be looking for stars as they will want to pull in viewers to start their new broadcast deal with Paramount. Talbott seems to have star potential, so I would imagine the promotion will look to give him fights that would favour him on paper. Someone like Marlon Vera, who is on a losing skid, or Rob Font, who is 38, could make sense. I wouldn’t hate a Barcelos rematch. They could also look to give him Sean O’Malley, a fellow star who’s been hinting at perhaps leaving the sport sooner than later, but that could be too much too soon. That’s why I like the idea of matching him up with Aiemann Zahabi. The Canadian is ranked inside the top 10, on a win streak, but is 38 and has arguably lost his last two fights.

Talbott’s next fight: Aiemann Zahabi

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“This whole week it was kill or be killed. I knew I was going to win the fight, but I didn’t want the fight to end that way for sure. As soon as he’s recovered I want to run it back. I respect him so much, he’s one of the greatest of all time, so I do want to run it back,” Van told reporters at his post-fight scrum.

“It was everything I expected. He’s aggressive, he’s a champion for a reason.”

Van (16-2) wasted little time outlining his plans as champion. He made it clear he wants to stay busy, but not before a brief breather.

“I want to be the active champion for sure, but I’m taking this month off,” he said with a laugh.

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The fight was second-to-last on the final Pay-Per-View card of the ESPN era (and for at least the next seven years for the UFC, as they shift to Paramount+), at the second to last UFC card of the 2025.

Champion Pantoja came out looking for a fast start, firing a leg kick and getting into a few early exchanges with Van. That hot start and frantic pace backfired for “The Cannibal” however, as the fight ended as quickly as it started. Pantoja fired a head kick, then went off-balance, falling to the mat. He tried to post on his arm, which appeared to either dislocate or break in the process. An injury TKO ensued as a result, with Pantoja unable to continue, leaving Joshua Van as the winner by default.

A terrible turn of events of everyone except Joshua Van, who is now the new UFC flyweight champion – the second youngest UFC champion at 24, behind Jon Jones, in history.

No question, that fight will need to be run back once Alexandre Pantoja is healthy. While Van did push Pantoja while he was going down, there’s little question this one was a freak injury more than anything. “He’s one of the greatest of all time, I didn’t want the fight to go that way,” Van told Joe Rogan post-fight.

Official Result: Joshua Van def. Alexandre Pantoja by TKO (injury), Round 1, 0:26

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With the exception of some non-U.S. markets, Pay-Per-View will be gone once the UFC switches over to Paramount+ in 2026. But there was one last big show to be had on Saturday, with both the bantamweight and flyweight titles on the line.

In the main event, Merab Dvalishvili was looking to make history. The Georgian known as “The Machine” had already defended his title three times in 2025, against Sean O’Malley, Cory Sandhagen, and Umar Nurmagomedov. Now, he was booked into a rematch with Petr Yan, looking to become the first UFC champion to successfully defend his belt four times in a calendar year.

Should he pull off such a feat, combined with his 14-fight win streak (which would then move to 15), Dvalishvili would almost certainly be at the top of the list for best bantamweight ever, surpassing the likes of Dominick Cruz, Aljamain Sterling, and Renan Barao among others.

Alexandre Pantoja was far back of Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in terms of title defenses, but the UFC’s current flyweight champ was steadily establishing his own legacy, and looking for a fifth title defense of his own against young star Joshua Van.

Following UFC 323 on Saturday, tune in for the post-fight press conference above.

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The promotion’s bantamweight champion, in the midst of a 14-fight win streak, is looking to become the first champ to defend a UFC title four times in a calendar year. Standing in his way, Petr Yan, a former champion himself in the weight class, one who Dvalishvili defeated on his way to claiming gold at 135lbs.

The final Pay-Per-View event of the UFC’s ESPN era sees a second title fight as its co-headliner, as Alexandre Pantoja looks to move past young upstart Joshua Van.

Weigh-ins for UFC 323 take place on Friday, December 5, 2025 kicking off at 12PM ET, 9AM PT. Results can be found below.

UFC 323: Dvalishvili vs. Yan 2 Weigh-In Results

Main card
Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili (c) (135) vs. Petr Yan (135) – for the UFC bantamweight championship
Flyweight: Alexandre Pantoja (c) (125) vs. Joshua Van (124.5) – for the UFC flyweight championship
Flyweight: Brandon Moreno (125) vs. Tatsuro Taira (126)
Bantamweight: Henry Cejudo (136) vs. Payton Talbott (136)
Light Heavyweight: Jan Błachowicz (206) vs. Bogdan Guskov (206)

Preliminary card 

Lightweight: Grant Dawson (156) vs. Manuel Torres (156)
Lightweight: Terrance McKinney (156) vs. Chris Duncan (156)
Women’s Flyweight: Maycee Barber (125.5) vs. Karine Silva (125.5)
Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov (155.5) vs. Farès Ziam (156)

Early preliminary card 

Middleweight: Marvin Vettori (186) vs. Brunno Ferreira (189)*
Lightweight: Edson Barboza (155.5) vs. Jalin Turner (155)
Light Heavyweight: Iwo Baraniewski (206) vs. İbo Aslan (205.5)
Middleweight: Mansur Abdul-Malik (185.5) vs. Antonio Trócoli (186)
Featherweight: Muhammad Naimov (146) vs. Mairon Santos (147.5)**

* Ferreira weighed in 3lbs over the non-title middleweight limit, fined 20% of his purse, fight moves forward at a catchweight

** Santos weighed in 1.5lbs over the featherweight limit, fined 20% of his purse, fight moves forward at a catchweight

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Van (15-2), who has quickly won over fans with his fearless style and fast-track rise, now gets his chance to shock the division on one of MMA’s biggest stages. He’s become one of the biggest fan favorites on the roster.

“That’s crazy right? Because before the (Brandon) Royval fight they was like, ‘even if you lose, it’s okay’. I don’t plan on losing. I’m here to take that belt from one of the greatest in our division,” Van told reporters on Wednesday.

“That’s the goal and I stay at that.”

Van enters fight week unbothered by the champion’s aura, insisting that Pantoja’s aggressive style may play directly into his strengths. The fan-favorite flyweight believes the narrative around the matchup has overlooked what he does best, punish opponents who overcommit on the feet.

“Like I always say man they give him too much respect. You got to remember, I’m a counter puncher, so let’s see if he wants to rush in with that. We have to wait and see come December 6,” he said.

“We got to give credit to Pantoja. He’s the greatest of all time in my eyes, in our division. This is the up-and-coming versus the great,” he said.

Before Saturday night, questions lingered about how Van would approach the biggest fight of his young career, a title shot against reigning champion Pantoja. When asked about the champion’s aura, Van didn’t hesitate to fire back with confidence.

“After I beat Pantoja, that’s the UFC to decide who I’ll fight next,” Van said.

“I don’t really worry about nothing else. There’s only one guys in my mind. That’s Pantoja.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Joshua Van above. He challenges Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title at UFC 323 on Saturday night.

The post Joshua Van Steps Into His Moment Ready To Dethrone Pantoja appeared first on Cageside Press.

Dvalishvili (21-4) will face Petr Yan (19-5) for the second time at UFC 323, the final PPV of the year, and of the ESPN era. That main event fight will be joined by Alexandre Pantoja (30-5) versus Joshua Van (15-2) for the flyweight title, which serves as co-headliner.

The historic part of the main event, however, is Dvalishvili defending a belt for the fourth time in a calendar year. No other champion has had that many title fights in such a short span; Merab, however, is very much living up to his nickname of “The Machine.”

UFC President and CEO Dana White announced the match-ups on Monday. Dvalishvili was on air on The Ariel Helwani Show when he learned of the booking.

Dvalishvili has already defeated Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley, and Cory Sandhagen in 2025. Immediately after a dominant win over Sandhagen with 20 takedowns landed, the Georgian star expressed a desire to fight once more this year and claim the record.

The Sandhagen victory also saw Dvalishvili tie the UFC record for most successful title defenses, meaning he can take ownership outright should he defeat Yan for the second time.

The pair first met in 2023, with Dvalishvili earning a unanimous decision victory over the Russian, himself a former UFC bantamweight champ. Since then, Yan has won three straight fights, most recently picking up a decision win over Marcus McGhee in July.

As for Pantoja vs. Van, that fight was firmed up when the pair faced off after UFC 317. Pantoja successfully defended his flyweight title for the fourth time by submitting Kai Kara-Franace that night. Joshua Van has won five straight fights, most recently getting the better of Brandon Royval.

UFC 323 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 6, 2025. The following match-ups have been reported for the event:

• Merab Dvalishvili (c) vs. Petr Yan – for the UFC bantamweight championship
• Alexandre Pantoja (c) vs. Joshua Van – for the UFC flyweight championship
• Henry Cejudo vs. Payton Talbott
• Jan Błachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov
• Marvin Vettori vs. Brunno Ferreira
• Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira
• Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva
• Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trócoli
• Terrance McKinney vs. Chris Duncan

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Ilia Topuria

After knocking out Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in 2024, Ilia Topuria was on something of a villain arc, seeing as he had just defeated two fan-favourites in a row. Well, that arc didn’t stop on Saturday as “El Matador” knocked out yet another fan-favourite in brutal fashion when he stopped Charles Oliveira in the very first round. It was another crowning achievement for the 28-year-old who has already accomplished so much in this sport.

With Islam Makhachev now moving up to welterweight, we unfortunately have to put that fight on the backburner. There are three names that are clearly ahead of the pack at 155 when it comes to contendership. There’s Justin Gaethje, who has been saying he will retire if he’s not offered a title shot next. There’s Arman Tsarukyan, who I personally believe is the rightful number one contender. However, hearing how Dana White talks about Arman, I doubt they will actually end up giving it to him. Then there’s Paddy Pimblett. Mostly thanks to a beef years in the making, “The Baddy” got to go face off with the Topuria inside the cage.

We can argue whether or not a win over Michael Chandler in 2025 is enough to warrant a title shot, but no one can dispute the fact that Topuria vs Pimblett is the biggest fight of all three of those options. As the promotion is in the middle of the last year of its TV deal, and with Jon Jones and Conor McGregor most likely not coming back, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the UFC opt for the biggest possible matchup. The fans are craving events with ‘big fight feel’ and Paddy the Baddy versus so-called “Hand Sanitizer Boy” would certainly scratch that itch.

Topuria’s next fight: Paddy Pimblett

Alexandre Pantoja

“The Cannibal” defended his belt for the fourth time with a slick third-round submission of Kai Kara-France and proved once more why he’s a top 5 pound-for-pound fighter. Pantoja had already beaten the Kiwi when the two met on The Ultimate Fighter in an exhibition bout, but this time, it will show up on his record.

During fight week, Pantoja expressed his clear lack of interest in moving up to bantamweight. His sights are on his own division, and he knows who’s waiting for him as he got to face-off inside the cage with his next challenger, 23-year-old Joshua Van.

Pantoja’s next fight: Joshua Van

Joshua Van

We knew Van was very good, but some wondered if his insane levels of activity would catch up with him. He pushed those worries to the limit this time around, taking on the number one ranked Brandon Royval at UFC 317 on a three-week turnaround. These are levels of activity that rival even Kevin Holland, and the 23-year-old managed to pull off the victory, knocking down Royval late in the 3^rd round, in a wild back-and-forth, winner-take-all round.

The youngster then got front row seats for the co-main event and got to size up his division’s champion in the cage. Time will tell if Van is ready to dethrone the champion 12 years his elder, but one thing is for sure: win or lose, he will make it entertaining.

Van’s next fight: Alexandre Pantoja

Beneil Dariush

After a nearly 19-month layoff, the veteran Dariush finally came back to fight Renato Moicano in a fight that was initially booked for January. After a scare in round one, Dariush rallied back to win the next two rounds and win a unanimous decision.

After his win last week, I penciled Rafael Fiziev to face the winner of this fight, and my opinion hasn’t changed. Dariush and Fiziev are two fighters that are back in the win column after long stretches without a win. It’s a fight that can fit nicely on any Pay-Per-View and could even headline a Fight Night card.

Dariush’s next fight: Rafael Fiziev

Payton Talbott

The 26-year-old Talbott bounced back nicely against a very highly touted prospect in Felipe Lima at UFC 317. Talbott showed improved grappling defense and used his polished striking to win two of the three closely contested rounds. A nice step to restore the hype he had just a year ago when he got a 19-second KO on last year’s International Fight Week card.

Talbott lost his 0 back in January when he surrendered eight takedowns to wily veteran Raoni Barcelos. The Brazilian followed that win with another unanimous decision over former champion Cody Garbrandt just two weeks ago. I think Talbott should face Garbrandt next. It would be a fun striking battle and it’s a matchup that would garner enough attention to put Talbott back on the map should he earn a nice victory.

Talbott’s next fight: Cody Garbrandt

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