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The men’s bantamweight title is up for grabs, after Alexandre Pantoja defends his belt against Joshua Van
Alex PattleCombat Sports EditorMonday 01 December 2025 11:55 GMTComments
CloseThe unhinged life of Merab Dvalishvili
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UFC 323 will culminate in two title fights this weekend, as pound-for-pound talents Merab Dvalishvili and Alexandre Pantoja defend their belts.
In the main event in Las Vegas, Dvalishvili puts his bantamweight title on the line against Petr Yan, in a rematch two years in the making. Dvalishvili outpointed the former champion while closing in on a title shot, and the Georgian has been dominant since gaining the gold.
This weekend, remarkably, he seeks a fourth straight successful title defence in 12 months. This year, Dvalishvili has outpointed Umar Nurmagomedov and Cory Sandhagen and submitted rival Sean O’Malley, the man he dethroned in 2024.
And in UFC 323’s co-main event, another dominant champion enters the cage, seeking a fifth winning title defence in a row. Flyweight king Pantoja takes on rising star Joshua Van, 24, who could become the youngest active UFC champion with a win.
Here’s all you need to know.
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When is UFC 323?
UFC 323 takes place on Saturday 6 December at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The early prelims will begin at 11pm GMT (3pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ET), followed by the regular prelims at 1am GMT on Sunday (5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET on Saturday). The main card then starts at 3am GMT on Sunday (7pm PT / 9pm CT / 10pm ET on Saturday).
How can I watch it?
In the UK, the event will air live on TNT Sports and is also accessible via Discovery+, EE TV, Virgin Media, Amazon Prime Video, and Sky Sports. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action. UFC Fight Pass is a means of watching the prelims in both countries.
Odds
open image in galleryFormer UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan (Getty Images)Dvalishvili – 2/9; Yan – 10/3
Pantoja – 4/9; Van – 7/4
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Fight card
Subject to change; ‘C’ denotes champion
Main card
open image in galleryAlexandre Pantoja has been dominant as men’s flyweight champion (Getty Images)Merab Dvalishvili (C) vs Petr Yan 2 (bantamweight title)
Alexandre Pantoja (C) vs Joshua Van (flyweight title)
Brandon Moreno vs Tatsuro Taira (flyweight)
Henry Cejudo vs Payton Talbott (bantamweight)
Jan Blachowicz vs Bogdan Guskov (light-heavyweight)
Prelims
Grant Dawson vs Manuel Torres (lightweight)
Terrance McKinney vs Chris Duncan (lightweight)
Maycee Barber vs Karine Silva (women’s flyweight)
Nazim Sadykhov vs Fares Ziam (lightweight)
Early prelims
Marvin Vettori vs Brunno Ferreira (middleweight)
Edson Barboza vs Jalin Turner (lightweight)
Iwo Baraniewski vs Ibo Aslan (heavyweight)
Mansur Abdul-Malik vs Antonio Trocoli (middleweight)
Muhammad Naimov vs Mairon Santos (featherweight)
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Merab DvalishviliPetr YanAlexandre PantojaJoin our commenting forum
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