LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 04: (L-R) Opponents Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia and Petr Yan of Russia face off during the UFC 323 press conference at T-Mobile Arena on December 04, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Zuffa LLC
The final UFC pay-per-view of 2025 — and the ESPN era — is nearly upon us. That fight card, UFC 323, takes place on Saturday, December 6, and is headlined by two title fights. In the UFC 323 main event, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili looks to defend his title for the fourth time in 2025, when he faces former champ Petr Yan in a rematch. With a win, Dvalishvili will become the first UFC champion to defend a UFC title four times in a calendar year. The co-main event of UFC 323 finds UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja attempting to defend his crown against the surging Joshua Van.
UFC 323 Fight Card: Date
Saturday, December 6, 2025
UFC 323 Fight Card: Location
T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV
UFC 323 Fight Card: How to Watch Or Stream
Early Prelims: ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass
Prelims: ESPN2, ESPN+
PPV Main Card: ESPN+ PPV
UFC 323 Fight Card: Fight Card Time
Early Prelims: 6:00 p.m. ET
Prelims: 8:00 p.m. ET
Main Card: 10:00 p.m. ET
UFC 323 Pay-Per-View Card
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan 2
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van
Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira
Henry Cejudo vs. Payton Talbott
Jan Błachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov
UFC 323 Preliminary Card
Grant Dawson vs. Manuel Torres
Terrance McKinney vs. Chris Duncan
Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva
Nazim Sadykhov vs. Farès Ziam
UFC 323 Early Preliminary Card
Marvin Vettori vs. Brunno Ferreira
Edson Barboza vs. Jalin Turner
Iwo Baraniewski vs. İbo Aslan
Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trócoli
Muhammad Naimov vs. Mairon Santos
UFC 323 Main Event: Merab Dvalishvili Vs. Petr Yan 2
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 04: Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia reacts to his win over Cory Sandhagen in the UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 320 event at T-Mobile Arena on October 04, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Zuffa LLC
Merab Dvalishvili (21-4), a long-time training partner of former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling stepped into the spotlight of the promotion’s 135-pound division in September 2014 when he scored a unanimous decision winover then-champion Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 306.
The 34-year-old Dvalishvili joined the UFC in 2017 as much-hyped prospect. At the time, Dvalishvili was 7-2 and had won and defended the Ring of Combat bantamweight crown.
Dvalishvili did not have a smooth start to his UFC run, losing his first two fights. Falling to Frankie Saenz by decision, and the second, to Ricky Simon, via submission. In September 2018, things clicked in place for the Serra-Longo Fight Team product, and he has not lost since.
Heading into UFC 306, Dvalishvili was on a 10-fight winning streak. Prior to his matchup against O’Malley, Dvalishvili had defeated Marlon Moraes, Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo. The win over O’Malley stretched his winning streak to 11 straight. Dvalishvili extended that streak to 12 when he defended his title with a unanimous decision win over the previously unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.
Dvalishvili faced O’Malley in a rematch at UFC 316. O’Malley had not fought since he lost his title to Dvalishvili at UFC 306. Despite making wholesale changes to his life and training heading into UFC 316, Dvalishvili easily dispatched O’Malley in their second meeting, ending the fight in the third round via submission.
In his most recent title defense, Dvalishvili outworked Sandhagen, earning a unanimous decision win (49-45, 49-45, 49-46).
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JULY 26: Petr Yan of Russia reacts after a victory against Marcus McGhee in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Etihad Arena on July 26, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Zuffa LLC
Petr Yan (19-5) is on the rebound. The 32-year-old former UFC bantamweight champion was 1-4 between March 2021 and March 2023, but has gone 3-0 with three decision wins in his past three outings.
Yan won the vacant UFC bantamweight belt by trouncing former UFC featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo in July 2020. Yan’s run with the belt was short, as he lost the title in his first attempted defense. Yan handed the strap to Aljamain Sterling in March 2021 after Yan blasted Sterling with an illegal knee that prevented Sterling from continuing.
In October 2021 Yan picked up the interim bantamweight title with a decision win over Cory Sandhagen. Yan’s next outing was a title unification matchup with Sterling. Sterling retained the belt with a split-decision win.
Yan followed his loss to Sterling with a split-decision setback to Sean O’Malley in October 2022. He then dropped a March 2023 scrap to Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision. Yan got back in the win column in March 2024 with a decision win over Song Yadong.
Following that victory, Yan earned a decision win over former UFC flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo in a five-round affair in November 2024. In his most recent outing, Yan earned a decision over Marcus McGhee in a three-round bout in July.
The former champion heads into the UFC 323 fight card as the No. 3 fighter in the official UFC bantamweight rankings.
We will have more on UFC 323 as fight night approaches.
