UFC 323 live results, highlights and play-by-play

UFC 323 Preview

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is live TONIGHT (Sat., Dec. 6, 2025) with its final pay-per-view (PPV) of the year (and forever). UFC 323 is set to take place inside the familiar T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with two title fights and a pretty good supporting cast.

The main event features Merab Dvalishvili, who is looking to make history by defending his UFC Bantamweight title for the fourth time in a calendar year. Dvalishvili’s previous defenses were against Sean O’Malley, Umar Nurmagomedov and Cory Sandhagen. Petr Yan will try and stop him and become a two-time champion himself. Yan has competed one time this year, defeating Marcus McGhee via unanimous decision.

The co-main event sees UFC’s Flyweight title on the line.

Division champion, Alexandre Pantoja, will go up against Joshua Van, who has blitzed through the division and now has a chance to become one of the youngest UFC champions ever. Pantoja will be trying to defend his belt for the fourth time (in total), a number that would start putting his name in the G.O.A.T. conversation at Flyweight.

The next man up for either Pantoja or Van is likely the winner of Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira. Moreno, a former champ, beat up on Kai Kara-France most recently. Taira, meanwhile. earned this fight with a quick win over Hyun Sung Park (re-live that here).

Rounding out UFC 323’s PPV main card is Henry Cejudo vs. Payton Talbott and Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov. An impressive win for Talbott might help him skip the line at Bantamweight (hopefully there’s no eye pokes in that fight). Truth be told, neither Blachowicz nor Guskov are anywhere close to challenging Alex Pereira anytime soon (that’s if he stays in their division).

UFC 323’s late “Prelims” are headlined by Grant Dawson vs. Manuel Torres. That portion of the card also has Terrance McKinney vs. Chris Duncan, Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva and Nazim Sadykhov vs. Fares Ziam. That’s a dynamite program of action fights that could produce highlight-reel finishes.

The early “Prelims” are propped up by Edson Barboza vs. Jalin Turner. Our first fights of the night also include Iwo Baraniewski vs. Ibo Aslan, Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trocoli and Muhammad Naimov vs. Mairon Santos.

It’s standard operating procedure for tonight’s card. We’ve got the Early “Prelims” at 6 p.m. ET over on ESPN+/Disney+/FX. Then, at 8 p.m. ET, it’s time for the Late “Prelims.” Those air on ESPN2/ESPN+/Disney+/FX. UFC 323’s PPV main card starts at the usual time of 10 p.m. ET. You can watch that on ESPN+ PPV (for the last time).

I will be providing live play-by-play, instant results, highlights and updates for all the fights right here starting at 6 p.m. ET.

See you then! Don’t forget to say ‘Hi’ in the comments, too.

UFC 323 QUICK RESULTS

Early Prelims

UFC 323 PLAY-BY-PLAY UPDATES

Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van

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

Round 1: Pantoja races out to meet Van. He gets popped with a little counter shot. Pantoja throws a high kick. Van catches it and pushes Pantoja to the ground. Pantoja lands on his arm and it may have snapped. The fight is off! Pantoja loses his belt off an injury! The replay is grotesque. What a horrible way for Pantoja’s title reign to end. And not exactly a great way for Van to start his.

Our first title fight of the night is up next.

Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira

Official decision: Tatsuro Taira def. Brandon Moreno by TKO (punches), round 2 (2:24)

Round 2: It’s a stalemate on the feet, but Taira manages to get Moreno down, with a body lock, and quickly takes his back. He slaps on the body triangle. Taira turns to give himself an angle to land hard ground and pound. Moreno turns and turtles up. Taira lands brutal shots from back control! Moreno starts drifting out. It’s all over! Wow. Moreno looks upset about the stoppage, but those shots were huge and Moreno wasn’t going anywhere.

Round 1: Taira shoots in. There’s a scramble and Moreno lands with Taira in a triangle. That was more luck than anything else. Taira rolls to be on top, but the triangle is locked on tight. Moreno’s legs are tight, but Taira seems to be creating enough space to survive. Taira tries a mini slam, but it looks like that helped Moreno more than hurt him. Taira throws body shots from this position. It’s hard to tell whether that’s worth more than the triangle position for Moreno. Taira finally gets out, with 15 seconds left in the round.

10-9 Moreno, I guess.

Potential title eliminator fight up next.

Henry Cejudo vs. Payton Talbott

Official decision: Payton Talbott def. Henry Cejudo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Round 3: Cejudo tries to box to open the round. He’s showing a ton of heart and toughness, but Talbott is looking very fresh and is moving well and landing hard shots. Talbott clinches Cejudo and puts him on the fence. Cejudo manages to get a takedown off the fence. He tries to take the back, but Talbott stands up. Talbott folds Cejudo up with another body shot. Cejudo, again, survives. Talbott swings for the fences in the final ten seconds, but can’t get the stoppage.

30-27 Talbott.

Round 2: Talbott drops Cejudo early. He tries to land ground and pound, but Cejudo covers up and then gets up. Talbott goes for a takedown, but Cejudo is able to scramble and land on top. Cejudo keeps Talbott grounded, but he doesn’t do any damage. Talbott is eventually able to build to his feet and get away. On the feet Talbott lets loose and lands some hard body shots and uppercuts. Cejudo is busted up. Cejudo fires back. Talbott bundles him over though and lands more shots. Cejudo makes it to his feet and is throwing on autopilot. Talbott is smiling.

20-18 Talbott

Round 1: Talbott stings Cejudo with a punch early. Cejudo is moving straight forwards and back as Talbott moves more laterally. Cejudo throws leg kicks. Talbott switches stances to compensate. Cejudo grabs onto a leg, but Talbott is able to peel him off and separate. There’s a brief pause for an eye poke against Cejudo. On the restart Cejudo lands a flash takedown. Talbott then lands a takedown on Cejudo. Talbott lands a nice shot on the ground, but Cejudo then gets up. Talbott lands a big takedown before the round ends. Cejudo takes a big deep breath on his way up.

10-9 Talbott.

To the Bantamweight division we go, not for the last time tonight.

Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov

Official decision: Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov ends in a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)

Round 3: Guskov lands some nice pot shots early in the round. His hand speed is giving Blachowicz lots of issues. Guskov steps in and lands a good straight right that wobbles Blachowicz a little. These are all single shots, though. Blachowicz responds with a hard punch of his own. Guskov backs up. It looks like he’s coasting a little here as if he thinks he’s won the first two rounds. Blachowicz chases him down late and lands a big body shot. He drops Guskov! He tries to finish, but it’s a race against time. The round ends. I give the round to Polish Power and that gives him the fight, on my scorecard.

29-28 Blachowicz

Round 2: Guskov sits Blachowicz down with a big punch! He gets on top and tries to pound him out, but Blachowicz covers up and survives, despite getting his head snapped straight back on one punch. Blachowicz goes for a heel hook. He talks to Guskov, eliciting a smile. He lets the lock go and Guskov gets on top of him and tries to land more ground and pound. A lot of these shots are sneaking through.

Round 1: Blachowicz lands some nice leg kicks. Guskov lands a good punch down the middle, though. That backed Blachowicz up a bit. Blachowicz responds with a nice little check hook that makes Guskov step backwards, though. Blachowicz improves as the round goes on and has Guskov thinking twice about engaging.

10-9 Blachowicz

The main card starts now.

Grant Dawson vs. Manuel Torres

Official decision: Manuel Torres def. Grant Dawson by TKO (punches), round 1 (2:25)

Round 1: Dawson misses his first couple of takedown attempts. He flashes high kicks to make sure Torres doesn’t blitz him. Torres remains patient. Dawson loops a punch, but Torres catches him with a clean counter. Torres combos off that counter and knocks Dawson down! He finishes with ground and pound. What a win for Manuel Torres!

High potential for excitement in this fight, too.

Terrance McKinney vs. Chris Duncan

Official decision: Chris Duncan def. Terrance McKinney by submission (anaconda), round 1 (2:30)

Round 1: McKinney wades forwards and then hits Duncan with a jumping knee. He then throws punches and has Duncan wobbled. He keeps going, but Duncan manages to survive. Duncan gets the takedown, but McKinney stands up and lands some more shots. Duncan then lands a big straight right. McKinney tries to land the knee again. Duncan lands another good shot. McKinney lands a knee to the body. Duncan then drops McKinney! He gets on top and tries to finish him. McKinney is barely defending himself. Duncan keeps pounding away. McKinney gets to his feet and drops down to his knees again. Duncan pulls him down and then throws on an anaconda choke for the win! Another wild fight here at UFC 323.

Don’t blink!

Maycee Barber vs. Karine Silva

Official decision: Maycee Barber def. Karine Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Round 3: Barber lands some nice punches and front kicks to start the round. Silva ducks down and gets a big takedown. Silva attacks the right leg, looking for a kneebar (which she has won with before in UFC). Barber is able to stay calm, get out of it, and then get on top. Silva throws her legs up and is very close to a triangle. Silva’s legs slip off, though. Barber stands up and starts kicking at the legs. Silva gets up, but Barber lands a takedown at the buzzer.

29-28 Barber

Round 2: Barber pressures Silva towards the fence. Silva jumps a guillotine. Barber is able to get out of it, though. Barber gets a body lock and then turns and takes down Silva. Silva rolls and, during the roll, clocks Barber in the head with her foot. Barber immediately complains. Barber looks wobbled after. The replay shows that Silva hit her with a pretty blatant illegal upkick. That should be a point deduction. Barber says “I’m a little dizzy, but I‘m OK to go.” The fight is restarted without a point deduction. Which is crazy to me. Barber takes Silva down immediately. Barber lays in some good ground and pound. Barber takes the back and lands some nice elbows to the side of Silva’s head. After getting hit with a bunch of punishment, Silva is able to put on a triangle and use it to sweep just before the round ends.

Round 1: After some light kickboxing exchanges, Silva gets Barber onto the fence and then drags her down. She takes the back, but isn’t super secure. Barber misses her chance to spin and get on top and Silva is able to lock in her body triangle. Silva looks for a choke, but Barber is able to survive. Barber spins and gets on top late in the round. She throws big ground and pound in the last ten seconds. That was nice, but Silva still gets the round.

10-9 Silva

Been about two years since we last saw Barber fight.

Barber a big favorite here, despite what happened before her last scheduled fight.

Nazim Sadykhov vs. Fares Ziam

Official Decision: Fares Ziam def. Nazim Sadykhov by TKO (punches), round 2 (4:59)

Round 2: Ziam takes the center of the cage and is sniping at Sadykhov. Sadykhov doesn’t want to get too close because he doesn’t want to get clinched up. Ziam switches over to wrestling and puts Sadykhov on the fence. Ziam gets Sadykhov down with the high crotch, again. Sadykhov hops up quickly though. Ziam sticks with him and then drags him down again. Sadykhov gets up and, as the round is ending, Ziam unloads with some elbows and punches against the fence. The referee waves it off right at the buzzer. Ziam might be a top fifteen Lightweight.

Round 1: Ziam uses his size advantage early, bullying Sadykhov in the clinch and landing some very hard knees. Sadykhov is stuck on the fence. He’s worried about doing too much and getting taken down. That’s exactly what happens, though. Ziam hoists up Sadykhov’s leg and drags him down. Ziam goes for an arm triangle, but can’t get it. Sadykov crawls to the cage, but Ziam is on top of him. Ziam gets his back and the body triangle. He works for a choke/crank.

10-9 Ziam.

Big size difference here.

I’ve been looking forward to this one!