Anticipation builds ahead of UFC 323 championship bout
By Ian Smit on November 26, 2025
In case you didn’t see Merab Dvalishvili’s dominant victory over Cory Sandhagen back in October earlier this year, he will be entering the cage again a little over two months since his last fight.
The main event pits bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili against former champion Petr Yan in a high-stakes rematch. A win for Dvalishvili would mark a fourth title defence in a single calendar year, a feat no UFC fighter has yet achieved.
Also on the card: a flyweight title fight between champion Alexandre Pantoja and challenger Joshua Van who earned a title shot after jumping from number 14 in the rankings to number one after defeating former champion Brandon Royval. This fight will serve as the co-main event and adds another major title fight to an already stacked lineup
This card includes a mix of former champions, contenders, and rising prospects. Notable matchups include:
- Jan Blachowicz vs Bogdan Guskov (light heavyweight bout)
- Brandon Moreno vs Tatsuro Taira (flyweight bout)
- Henry Cejudo vs Payton Talbott (bantamweight bout)
Broadcast for Canadian fans: the card airs at 8 p.m. Mountain Time (Edmonton) for the main card, preceded by prelims and early prelims from 4 p.m. MT.
With two title fights, a rematch carrying major divisional implications and a stacked card, UFC 323 is positioned to close out the year as one of the promotion’s more significant events.