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The 14-fight card featured nine finishes with two of those finishes coming on the five-fight main card. “The Machine,” Merab Dvalishvili, stalled and came up short against Petr Yan in the main event, losing his 135lb title. And in the co-main event, an anticlimactic injury inside of thirty seconds. This resulted in Joshua Van walking away with the flyweight title over Alexandre Pantoja. Not too many fighters to match up on this edition of losers after a retirement, an early injury, and a draw.

Merab Dvalishvili

Petr Yan came with the perfect game plan Saturday, piecing up Merab Dvalishvili and denying takedown after takedown on the way to capturing the bantamweight title. Yan entered the fight ranked at #3 in the division. Merab fought tenaciously but Yan just seemed to have an answer for everything that was thrown his way.

This fight should be run back immediately. The pair first fought in 2023 with Merab earning a decision over five rounds. Merab is now 5-1 since that bout. Petr is now 4-0. A lot of fans would appreciate an immediate rematch as both fights were incredibly entertaining. Dvalishvili was attempting a historic fourth title defense in a calendar year. He was an active champion. It’s only fair to give him an automatic rematch and to make his fights with Yan a proper trilogy. This fight could headline another PPV as now the first two fights have gone the distance- and been epic.

Dvalishvili’s next fight: Petr Yan III

Alexandre Pantoja

Joshua Van become the second youngest UFC champion in promotion history after an unfortunate injury to the champ, Alexandre Pantoja, ended the pair’s bout prematurely.  The fight lasted just 26 seconds before Pantoja’s untimely injury in his fifth title defense. The loss snaps an eight-fight win streak for Pantoja that began back in 2021.

Due to the nature of the injury (a nasty looking break or dislocation to the arm), Pantoja’s win streak leading up to the injury and the current landscape of the division- Alexandre, when healthy, should be offered an immediate shot at the belt. Ideally, it’s against Joshua Van but depending on the severity of Pantoja’s injury he could be sidelined for a while. And, of course, the show would continue on without him. So, whoever is holding the belt upon Pantoja’s return, should face the former champ that lost his belt due to a freak injury.

Pantoja’s next fight: UFC Flyweight Champion

Brandon Moreno

Tatsuro Taira stopped former champion Brandon Moreno in the second round of their bout on Saturday. The TKO stoppage was not without a bit of controversy as #2 ranked Moreno was still conscious and working when the fight was stopped. Taira entered the fight ranked at #5 in the division. Brandon is now 2-2 since losing his title in a split decision to Alexandre Pantoja in 2023.

Brandon’s next fight should be against Kyoji Horiguchi. Kyoji is currently ranked at #8 in the division. Kyoji is a former RIZIN and Bellator champion who had a 7-1 stint with the UFC from 2013 to 2016 (only loss was Demetrious Johnson). Since resigning with the UFC earlier this year, Horiguchi stopped Tagir Ulanbekov in the final round of their bout on November 22nd. Horiguchi is now ranked at #8 in the division and finished the #12 ranked guy. Giving Moreno a fight like this gives him plenty of respect after a controversial stoppage. It also gives Kyoji an opportunity to introduce himself to UFC fans against a former title challenger. This fight would be a great headliner for a fight night card, and the winner could be looking at a title eliminator bout.

Moreno’s next fight: Kyoji Horiguchi

Henry Cejudo

Payton Talbott butchered and battered Henry Cejudo on his way to a unanimous decision over the former UFC double champion. Cejudo entered the fight ranked at #10 in the division, while Payton was unranked. If Cejudo’s second retirement sticks he’ll end his career on a four-fight slide stemming from his 2023 split decision loss to Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight strap.

Cejudo’s next fight: Retirement 

Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov

The first fight on UFC 323’s main card, Jan Blachowicz vs Bogdan Guskov ended with in a majority draw. Jan entered the fight coming off an injury ranked at #5, while Bogdan was at #11. That fight should be rebooked for a rematch as it was entertaining and both fighters were very closely matched as the veteran evened the score after Guskov jumped out to an early lead.

Blachowicz/Guskov’s next fight: rematch

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“I’m very happy that the belt is back in my hands,” Yan told reporters through a translator in his post-fight scrum.

“I knew that the entire time I had to push my initiative, I had to make sure to damage him. I understand that I’m fighting in the champion’s hometown, this is his back yard. I flew 30 hours to get here. I knew that in order for the belt to go in my hands I had to make sure to leave no stone unturned, no questions.”

Yan (20-5) was pressed about the possibility of a rematch with Dvalishvili down the line. While the newly crowned champion didn’t rule it out, he stopped short of committing to a definitive answer. If anything he used it as a chance to troll Dvalishvili.

“I think Merab should really just get the boys, get into the jacuzzi, think about it, and then we’ll see,” he said.

“I never chose what to do as a champion. I never chose my opponents. Whatever the UFC, whatever the organization tells me to do, let’s go. Pedal to the metal,” he said.

“Just understand the fact that for me to get the opportunity to fight for the belt again UFC made me go three more fights before I was able to get into the contender position again.”

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The rematch, the final main event of the UFC’s numbered events on ESPN, was a thriller, with Petr Yan showing up in career-best form. On route to evening his career series with Dvalishvili, who was attempting to defend his 135lb title for a record-setting fourth time in a calendar year, Russia’s Yan displayed top-notch takedown defense, and even landed a few takedowns of his own. On top of that, he had the edge in striking, rocking and bloodying Dvalishvili early in the bout.

True to form, Dvalishvili’s cardio never faded, but he soon found himself in an unfamiliar position: fighting from behind. And he never could make up the gap, losing a unanimous decision with the closest score being a 48-47. The remaining two judges, however, scored the fight 49-46.

The win for Yan sets up a trilogy fight, which might be the smart play for the UFC, given how good Saturday’s headliner was.

Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC 323 went to Iwo Baraniewski, who got into a one-round, actually 89-second brawl with Ibo Aslan, and Manuel Torres. Torres put away Grant Dawson in the night’s featured prelim.

All four bonus-winners take home the usual $50,000 U.S. for their efforts (with that number set to rise in the new year).

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No UFC champion had ever defended their title four times in a single year. But Dvalishvili, on a fourteen fight win streak, was very much living up to his nickname of “The Machine.”

Former champ Yan, meanwhile, was looking to avenge a prior decision loss to Georgia’s Dvalishvili.

The night had already seen one title change hands, albeit off an injury. Might there be a second?

Petr Yan looked to press early, backing the champ up against the fence. Dvalishvili, however, pressed back, letting his hands go. A right hand threatened, and a left trailed it, connecting, though there wasn’t much on it. Yan was able to cover up and roll with several of Dvalishvili’s attacks, and found success with his jab. A very even fight through the first two and a half minutes; Yan seemed to rock Merab just past the halfway point. That led to Merab going after a takedown, and while a trip didn’t land, Merab stayed on it.

Yan showed some solid takedown defense, and eventually broke free of a body lock. After an exchange of jabs, however, Dvalisvili took the fight right back to the fence, forcing Yan to defend again.

Dvalishvili landed a right hand to start round two, then punched his way into a takedown attempt. Yan, again, showed stupendous takedown defense, at one point displaying his balance and staying upright on one leg. Yan, meanwhile, connected with his jab. Then, Yan flipped the script, changed levels, and landed his own takedown. Not a good idea in the end, as Merab scrambled and reversed. Yan tried to do the same, and took the fight back to the fence. Merab would spend time with a body lock, but again couldn’t get Yan down; the Russian instead reversed. They’d battle it out at the end of the round, exchanging blows.

Yan opened round three with a low kick, keeping the champ guessing. Dvalishvili, meanwhile, had absorbed considerable damage to his nose in the earlier rounds and was bloodied. Merab landed a right, but Yan went after a takedown and wound up slamming Dvalishvili! Merab survived, got up, lifted Yan, and tried to slam him but more dumped him on his side. Yan scrambled right back to his feet; Dvalishvili dragged the challenger down again. This time, when Yan fought off a takedown, Dvalishvili kneed the body. Another shot followed.

Another shot by the champ saw Yan sprawling. He appeared to have slowed a step however. Dvalishvili not so much. They traded knees in the clinch. A body kick at the end of the round landed with a crack, and backed Merab up. Yan went in on a takedown, but couldn’t land it.

The championship rounds had Dvalishvili looking the fresher fighter, despite the damage to his face and the nasty body kick to end round three. Merab went after yet another takedown, but Yan reversed. Dvalishvili defensed a takedown with a guillotine, and after something of a struggle, Yan was able to pull free. Merab was back up however, and landing a punch in the clinch while absorbing a knee. Petr Yan’s takedown defense continued to be the story in round four. Despite Dvalishvili stringing together takedown attempt after takedown attempt, Yan rarely went down, and refused to stay down. With two minutes on the clock, Yan appeared to hurt Merab again, and dug the body. He’d target it again with a kick. A left to the body staggered Dvalishvili, but he then surged forward.

Feeling himself, Yan broke out a spinning back fist in the final minute. He headed to round five almost certainly up on the scorecards.

Petr Yan fired a pair of side kicks to the leg to start the final frame. Yan would also target the body again, with a hook this time. His hands had not failed him, nor had his takedown defense. The champ was bloodied and three minutes away from losing his title. With two minutes to go, it was Yan in on a takedown, fought off ultimately. Dvalishvili then considered a guillotine, didn’t have it, and was taken down, albeit he was immediately back to his feet. Yet another body kick landed for Yan, with Dvalishvili noticeably pained.

There was no Hail Mary for Merab Dvalishvili; instead, Petr Yan landed one final takedown of his own. Unquestionably the best anyone had looked against Merab in years, and enough to reclaim the UFC bantamweight title.

Official Result: Petr Yan def. Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)

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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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The fight comes against Petr Yan, who Dvalishvili has already defeated once previously. In a sense, Merab is lapping the 135lb division, but the busy schedule is by design, he explained during Wednesday’s UFC 323 media day.

“That was my goal, to be busy this year. Thank you UFC to make this one happen, because I was willing to fight four times this year, and it’s happening. Here we are in Fight Week, today is Wednesday. All I have to do is make weight, and be happy after.”

Dvalishvili admits that his weight cuts are “never easy,” but added that he’s felt worse on Wednesdays, whereas “today, I’m good.”

Saturday’s showdown with Yan comes after Dvalishvili took the Russian ex-champ the distance the first time around. As to what might be different, “I’m looking for finishing,” stated Dvalishvili. “It’s going to be tough, because nobody ever finished him. But yeah, I want to win against him, another win, and of course it’s going to be a record, fourth fight, fought win this year and another win in the UFC. Every win is important for me, important for my country and my team.”

Past that, Merab Dvalishvili is bullish on where the bantamweight division is right now. He sees, in particular, two potential challengers separating themselves from the pack.

“I’m excited. [Aiemann] Zahabi is coming from a long winning streak, which is good. Song Yadong has a fight against Sean O’Malley. If Yadong wins somehow, of course I’m cheering for Sean O’Malley, but if Yadong wins, I’d like to fight him too. And then there are other guys then who have other fights too and if they win, I will have a next contender.”

While Song Yadong shares the UFC 323 card with Dvalishvili, Zahabi earned a win over Chito Vera at UFC Vancouver in October, and defeated ex-champ Jose Aldo prior to that while compiling a seven-fight win streak. Either way, it’s clear the champ has options.

That said, Dvalishvili is not taking his eye off the prize this Saturday. “First, I’m focusing on Petr Yan. I don’t want to overlook him. He’s a top challenger, not every fight goes the same way. One mistake can change everything, and I realize the danger from Petr Yan.”

Watch the full UFC 323 media day appearance by Merab Dvalishvili above. The bantamweight champ faces Petr Yan in the main event of UFC 323 in Las Vegas this Saturday, December 6, 2025.

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Once viewed as the division’s most ruthless technician, Yan now enters Las Vegas hungry to prove he remains the true standard at 135 pounds, not just a former champion, but the rightful No. 1 contender.

“There’s no question about the fact that Merab is a great warrior. He showed with his fights that he is a deserving champion, that he deserves to be where he’s at, but I also want to say that with my fights and with my performances I showed that there is no other clear #1 contender,” Yan told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.

“I deserve to be #1 contender, and I’m ready and able to fight for this title.”

For Yan (19-5) that familiarity cuts both ways heading into Saturday. Yan believes the advantage lies with him, pointing to previous rematches in his career as proof that he levels up the second time around.

“We have a lot of information that we’ve downloaded about each other. We know each other better, but if you look at my first two rematches (Magomed) Magomedov and (Aljamain) Sterling that you could see that I was 100% better in the second fight. I’m determined to make sure that I’m much better in the second fight against Merab,” he said.

Yan enters UFC 323 with a chip on his shoulder and a familiar rival in front of him, looking to reclaim a position he once held atop the bantamweight division.

“This is a way more important fight for myself, for the entire team, for everybody who’s with me,” said Yan.

“It’s important for me to come back and to really show what I can do.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Petr Yan above. He challenges Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title at UFC 323 on Saturday night.

The post Petr Yan Eyes Redemption And Gold Against Dvalishvili In Rematch 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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